Owen Benjamin was a stand-up comedian and actor who had minor roles in mainstream film and television between 2008 and 2015.
19 Facts About Owen Benjamin
2.
Owen Benjamin was born to John Kares Smith and Jean Troy-Smith, both professors at Oswego State University.
3.
Owen Benjamin attended Plattsburgh State College, where he worked at the student-run TV station.
4.
In 2008, Owen Benjamin had a supporting role in the comedy film The House Bunny.
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Owen Benjamin appeared on the MTV show Punk'd, and twice as a correspondent on The Jay Leno Show.
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Owen Benjamin hosted the annual ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards from 2014 to 2016.
7.
Owen Benjamin hosted Esquire Network's The Next Great Burger in 2015.
8.
Towards the end of the decade, Owen Benjamin had established himself as what conservative commentator Bethany Mandel described as an "up-and-coming conservative comedian", booking comedy shows at university campuses.
9.
Owen Benjamin hosted a podcast, Why Didn't They Laugh, on Sideshow Network.
10.
In October 2017, Owen Benjamin tweeted his opposition to providing transgender children with hormone therapy, repeatedly referring to an NPR host as a "child molester" for raising a transgender child.
11.
In February 2018, Owen Benjamin used a racial slur onstage in a performance in his hometown of Saranac Lake, New York, and more venues cancelled appearances.
12.
Owen Benjamin was a guest on several shows by The Daily Wire, and podcasts including those of Joe Rogan and Steven Crowder.
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Owen Benjamin is part of the alt-right, and has espoused views rooted in white nationalism that are racist and antisemitic.
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Bethany Mandel has said that Owen Benjamin, who was once a mainstream conservative comedian, became increasingly radicalized towards the end of the 2010s.
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In October 2018, The Atlantic reported that Owen Benjamin had a history of posting antisemitic memes on Instagram.
16.
Right Wing Watch has reported that Owen Benjamin believes in several other conspiracy theories, such as that the transgender rights movement is part of a eugenics program to reduce the world population, that the moon landing did not occur, and that the existence of dinosaurs was fabricated by the Smithsonian.
17.
In October 2019, Patreon suspended Owen Benjamin's account, saying he violated their terms of service regarding hate speech.
18.
In March 2020, The Daily Dot reported that Owen Benjamin had been attempting to circumvent his social media bans on several platforms to spread disinformation regarding COVID-19.
19.
In 2021, after Owen Benjamin began working on a project to create a compound on property he owns in Boundary County, Idaho, county residents filed a complaint with the county commissioners over allegations that he had violated zoning provisions, while expressing concerns that he was forming a "Ruby Ridge style" compound on the property.