Owen Benjamin

Owen Benjamin Smith (born May 24, 1980) is an American comedian, actor, and alt-right political commentator.

Owen Benjamin
Benjamin in 2017
Birth nameOwen Smith
Born (1980-05-24) May 24, 1980
Fulton, New York, U.S.
MediumStand-up, television, film, internet
NationalityAmerican
EducationSUNY Plattsburgh
Years active2006 – present
Genres
SpouseAmy Benjamin
Children2
Notable works and rolesThe Improv
Punk'd
The House Bunny
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Owen Benjamin was born to John Kares Smith and Jean Troy-Smith, both professors at Oswego State University.[1] He attended Plattsburgh State College, where he worked at the student-run TV station.[2]

Career

In 2008, Benjamin had a supporting role in The House Bunny.[2][3] In 2009, he played the lead role in the romantic comedy All's Faire in Love, co-starring with Christina Ricci.[2][3] He was on Comedy Central Presents in 2010. For three seasons (2012–14), Benjamin portrayed Owen Walsh on the TBS original comedy Sullivan & Son.[2] Benjamin was also a correspondent on The Jay Leno Show,[4] twice appearing on the program.[2]

Benjamin hosted the annual ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards from 2014 to 2016.[5] He had a podcast, Why Didn't They Laugh, on Sideshow Network. He hosted Esquire Network's The Next Great Burger in 2015. He played a correspondent to Tyson Beckford and Rev Run on their show It's Not You It's Men (2016) on the OWN network.[6]

Benjamin formally produced the late show on Saturday Nights at The Improv in Hollywood, California, and has also performed on MTV's show Punk'd.[7] Benjamin has starred in several web-only video series, including: Sony Pictures Television's C-SPOT, the role of Owen on Gaytown, Chance Stevens on Heckle U for CBS Interactive,[8] and as a host of his own series, Owen Benjamin Presents.[9]

Benjamin has used crowdfunded money to rent the venues for his shows.[10]

He has cited Adam Sandler and Vince Vaughn as being comedy influences.[11]

Owen Benjamin spoke at the Flat Earth International Conference in Dallas, Texas, on November 14, 2019.[12]

Benjamin's YouTube channel was banned on December 3, 2019 for violations of YouTube Terms of Service.[13] On December 13, he was also suspended from Facebook and Instagram for multiple policy violations. He is also banned or suspended from Patreon, PayPal and Twitter.[14]

Views

His comedy is intentionally offensive and frequently uses slurs. Benjamin describes his comedy as a criticism of political correctness, liberalism, and the political left.[15] Benjamin has had scheduled shows canceled and has been suspended from Twitter for this behavior,[15][16] which includes advocating for the return of slavery to enslave Shaun King.[17]

Benjamin believes that the transgender rights movement is part of a eugenics program funded by Bill Gates to lower the world population.[18] Benjamin has accused Jesse Thorn of being a "child molester" for having a transgender child and has used anti-LGBT slurs.[19]

Benjamin does not believe the moon landing occurred.[20]

Benjamin is a creationist who does not believe in the theory of evolution, he also does not believe that dinosaurs existed. Benjamin also believes that HIV is a hoax.[21][22]

On March 24, 2020, the front page of The Daily Dot featured an article describing how Benjamin has been attempting to circumvent his social media bans to spread disinformation regarding Covid-19. Following the publication of the article several of Benjamin's new accounts were terminated.[23]

Antisemitism

According to Insider Inc, Benjamin supports antisemitic conspiracy theories.[24] In October 2018, The Daily Beast reported that Benjamin had a history of posting antisemitic memes on Instagram.[25]

In a YouTube livestream on March 9, 2019, Benjamin said of Adolf Hitler: "Really what he was trying to do was clean Germany, clean it of the parasites, of the fleas. He did not hate Jews. He hated filth and he was trying to clean up." In the same YouTube livestream Benjamin yelled "Jews run our entire media, all of Hollywood, all of pornography", and "Nobody wants any of it and it's all Jews!" Benjamin also denied that gas chambers were used in the Holocaust. Benjamin said of Jews: "if they get power, they will destroy your entire civilization! Has anyone not seen that happening?"[26]

Benjamin also has appeared on livestreams with prominent white supremacists such as Peter Brimelow, the founder of anti-immigration website VDARE.[20]

According to Bethany Mandel, Benjamin has also posted fabricated verses from the Talmud. According to Mandel, Benjamin also frequently spreads antisemitic conspiracy theories including blaming Jewish people for every societal ill. Mandel also notes that Benjamin is a holocaust denier and anti-vaccination.[27]

Personal life

In March 2008, he and Christina Ricci announced they were engaged, but they ended their engagement two months later.[3][28] He later married and had two sons.[29]

References
  1. "Look at OZ: Stand-up comic Owen Benjamin – The Oswegonian". 2018-11-29. Archived from the original on 2018-11-29. Retrieved 2018-07-12. Benjamin’s parents are both professors at Oswego State.
  2. "Oswego native Owen Benjamin to perform at Funny Bone in Syracuse". Oswego County News Now. 2016-08-21. Archived from the original on 2019-07-10. Retrieved 2020-01-05. Benjamin got his start in entertainment during college at SUNY Plattsburgh, where he was involved with a student-run TV station. ... By the mid-2000s he was acting in films, including roles in 2007’s 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry' and 2008’s 'The House Bunny.' ... He also co-starred in the 2009 feature film 'All’s Faire in Love' alongside Christina Ricci.
  3. "Christina Ricci is Engaged!". usmagazine.com. March 17, 2009. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Owen Benjamin recently made his film debut in 2008's The House Bunny.
  4. "Jay Leno adds to posse". Variety.com. 2009-09-08.
  5. "Comedian Owen Benjamin Returns As Host Of The Art Directors Guild 20th Annual Excellence In Production Design Awards". shootonline.com. 2015-11-12.
  6. ""It's Not You It's Men" Full Cast/Crew Credits". IMDb.com.
  7. "Owen Benjamin's tweet from February 9, 2018".
  8. Frommer, Dan. "Lindsay Campbell's New Show, 'Heckle U', Launching Today". Retrieved 2009-08-23.
  9. "C-Spot Season 2 on Crackle". thecomicscomic. 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
  10. "Conservatives banished from comedy industry". The Washington Times. January 1, 2018. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  11. Weiser, Sonia (2013-06-27). "The Laughspin Interview with Owen Benjamin". Laughspin.com.
  12. https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/the-earth-is-flat-nasa-and-the-pope-are-liars-things-learned-at-the-flat-earth-convention-11808074
  13. Petrizzo, Zachary (December 4, 2019). "Owen Benjamin, alt-right comedian, banned from YouTube". The Daily Dot. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  14. Holt, Jared (December 13, 2019). "Instagram and Facebook Suspend Right-Wing 'Comedian' Owen Benjamin". Right Wing Watch. People For the American Way. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  15. "Local comic Day Bracey clashes online with alt-right comedian Owen Benjamim over canceled Pittsburgh show". 2018-04-19. Archived from the original on 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
  16. "What Happened To Owen Benjamin Is Further Proof We Are Losing Our Min…". 2017-09-29. Archived from the original on 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
  17. Joe, Berkowitz (December 3, 2018). "Why is Amazon promoting this anti-trans alt right troll's comedy special?". Fast Company. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  18. Holt, Jared (November 29, 2018). "Owen Benjamin: Transgender Rights Movement is a U.N.-Sponsored Eugenics Program". Right Wing Watch. People for the American Way. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  19. Deto, Ryan. "Local comic Day Bracey clashes online with alt-right comedian Owen Benjamin over canceled Pittsburgh show". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  20. Holt, Jared (February 12, 2019). "Owen Benjamin: Another 'Red Pill' Overdose Victim". Right Wing Watch. People for the American Way. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  21. https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/the-earth-is-flat-nasa-and-the-pope-are-liars-things-learned-at-the-flat-earth-convention-11808074
  22. https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/how-one-globetard-irked-the-flat-earthers-and-got-banned-from-their-global-sorry-conference-11690952
  23. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/owen-benjamin-youtube-twitter/
  24. Einbinder, Nicole. "White nationalists continue to post on Instagram, despite a new Facebook policy banning such content". Insider Inc. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  25. Lorenz, Taylor (October 30, 2018). "Instagram Is Teeming With Anti-Semitism". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  26. Holt, Jared (March 18, 2019). "Owen Benjamin's Rhetoric is Growing More Extreme". Right Wing Watch. People for the American Way. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  27. Mandel, Bethany (2019-04-08). "How did conservative comedian Owen Benjamin became a darling of the 'alt-right'?". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2019-05-14. Every few days, fans of his streams and posts on platforms like Instagram and Facebook can watch Benjamin quote fictitious tractates from the Talmud or mock critics of Holocaust denial.
  28. "Christina Ricci calls off her engagement to 'All's Faire in Love' co-…". 2012-09-07. Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
  29. "Owen Benjamin Comedy on Twitter: "Both momma and baby are happy and healthy". 2018-07-20. Archived from the original on 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
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