Candace Owens hits out at nasty rumors claiming she was DEAD... as fellow MAGA influencer claims her account was hacked

By WILKO MARTÍNEZ-CACHERO, US REPORTER Published: 22:00, 20 June 2026 | Updated: 22:25, 20 June 2026 Right–wing provocateur Candace Owens lashed out at inane rumors that she had died as she also doubled down on a conspiracy theory about the late Charlie Kirk. Rumors had spread on social media that Owens, 37, had died after an account belonging to Lilly Gaddis, a political influencer with more than 250,000 followers on X, posted that Owens' family had informed her of her death. 'It is with deep sadness and sorrow that I am sharing the passing of my long time friend and fellow political commentator, Candace,' Gaddis wrote Friday afternoon on X. On Saturday morning, Owens took to social media and pushed back on the rumors that she had died. 'Thank you all for the messages of concern but I am not dead,' Owens wrote on X. 'If I were, it would be entirely appropriate for you to have blamed Israel.' She then added: 'Somewhat relatedly, Charlie Kirk was not concerned he was going to be killed by a transgendered furry after a full day of arguing with Zionists about him abandoning the pro–Israel cause.' After announcing Owens' purported death, Gaddis claimed that her social media account 'is hacked.' Gaddis' original post has since been deleted, though not before kicking up theories about the controversial political commentator. Candace Owens lashed out at rumors claiming she had died, bringing up a conspiracy theory about the late Charlie Kirk as she did so Rumors about Owens' death began when political influencer Lilly Gaddis, who has more than 250,000 X followers, wrote that the provocateur's family had informed her of her death  Gaddis appeared to acknowledge that the post claiming Owens had died was made on her account, but insisted she did not know how it got there. 'Can anyone tell me how this is happening? I didn't post this?' she wrote on Saturday morning. That did not stop wild rumors from spreading online, with one X user claiming that 'a bunch of people were given advanced warning and scripts for an assassination that didn't happen.' Another online commenter absurdly claimed, 'She might have just saved Candace. Divine intervention? A true accident? A fabricated "mistake" to buy time?' In the wake of the controversy, Gaddis also posted a photo of her X account's access history, claiming she did not identify two of the applications used. Owens responded: 'Please share the IP address so we can look into it— thanks.' The conservative influencer responded by saying that she would send the details to Owens immediately, adding that she had 'filed a police report and they are looking into it.' The post made on Gaddis' account that claimed Owens had died was later reposted by Gaddis herself, who claimed she had been hacked Owens wrote on X that 'it would be entirely appropriate for you to have blamed Israel' if she had actually died Shooting down her death rumors, Owens wrote: 'Charlie Kirk was not concerned he was going to be killed by a transgendered furry after a full day of arguing with Zionists about him abandoning the pro–Israel cause' On the same day that Gaddis claimed Owens had died, former US Navy SEAL turned podcaster Shawn Ryan posted a smiling photo on X with the political commentator. Owens previously alleged without evidence that Kirk's assassination was linked to his beliefs on Israel. After Kirk's assassination in September, Owens claimed that billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman – who is Jewish and a vocal supporter of Israel – 'was very upset' and 'threats were made' because Kirk's 'rational thoughts about Israel were a no–no.' Kirk's meeting with Ackman in the Hamptons took place just weeks before the 31-year-old activist died. Owens claimed, without providing evidence, that Kirk 'was offered a ton of money in this moment,' which he turned down. Ackman denied Owens's allegations in a post on X: 'For the record, at no time have I ever threatened Charlie Kirk, Turning Point or anyone associated with him. I have never blackmailed anyone, let alone Charlie Kirk. 'I have never offered Charlie or Turning Point any money in an attempt to influence Charlie's opinion on anything,' he added. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.