Angela Rye Has Perfect Response for Fan Who Asked Her to Debate Candace Owens

Angela Rye

Angela Rye is just one of many celebrities Candace Owens has tried to debate. (Photo by Theo Wargo / Getty Images)

Political analyst Angela Rye caught a case of selective memory loss on Wednesday when a Twitter user asked her to engage in a debate with right-wing provocateur Candace Owens.

The user, Iron Chef Ass N—a, told the CNN commentator how much he would love to see a debate between the two, but Rye quickly shut him down. The liberal attorney is known for her fiery on-air comebacks and deep knowledge of all things race and politics.

The request comes just days after Owens, communications director for right-wing nonprofit Turning Point USA, challenged ESPN’s Jemele Hill to an on-air debate. The two engaged in a social media spat earlier this week after Owens accused Hill of being used by the Dems “to paralyze Blacks with undue fear.”

Owens added that she’d love to discuss the issue on The Rubin Report, which bills itself as “the largest talk show about free speech and big ideas on YouTube,” according to Fox News.

“ … If you truly believe what you believe, and your goal is to educate— then the greatest thing that we can do is to respectfully debate so that the many people that follow us can understand the source of our perspective,” she wrote in a follow-up tweet.

Hill refused to take the bait, however, writing, “I’m good luv, enjoy.”

Owens has a track record of trying to debate other celebrities, including actor Don Cheadle, commentator Jehmu Greene and activist Tamika D. Mallory. She seemed open to having a sit-down with Cheadle after he criticized her comments suggesting some Black Americans have “more emotion” about slavery and Jim Crow than their ancestors did living through it.

Owens was awfully quiet, however, when TV One journalist Roland Martin invited her to debate on his show.

On Wednesday, fans commended Rye for now falling for the okey-doke.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top