Right-wing patriot Candace Owens’ refusal to acknowledge the severity and arguably the existence of the coronavirus pandemic just cost her a medical visit and placed her at the top of discussions on social media.
On Wednesday, Sept. 1, no tears were shed for Owens, who blasted a private COVID-19 testing service in a Twitter post after they emailed her denying service, citing the conservative pundit practice of spreading misinformation regarding the deadly virus.
“Holy crap!! I just received an e-mail from a Covid testing facility that they are REFUSING to administer a test to me because they don’t like my politics,” the 32-year-old wrote. “INSANE. I’m banned from making sure I don’t accidentally spread Covid? Going live with the e-mail on Instagram in 10 mins!”
As for the “she must be lying” crowd, Owens wrote that she would be “plastering the e-mail on Twitter and Instagram thereafter for the world to see.” She added, “The public Heath crisis is SO REAL, that they are now banning individuals from COMPLYING with rules to ensure they don’t spread COVID.”
The audience queued the tiny violins. “Sucks to be called out for your bullsh-t by a company that has a right to deny service,” wrote one Twitter user. “Also, aren’t you unafraid of COVID? Just ride it out…99% recovery rate. You got this, girl. I BELIEVE IN YOU.”
“But you’re a miracle! Covid couldn’t possibly get you!” quipped a third person who attached a screenshot of Owens bragging in a Twitter post just last month about having supposedly traveled to over two dozen states and six countries since the start of the pandemic, “maskless outside of planes” and “I still don’t have Covid.”
Instead, the lab’s owner Suzanna Lee garnered high praise for turning away the outspoken anti-masker. “I read it. I’m with her. Not you,” wrote one supporter. “Also it’s a private company so your conservative principles demand her right to be able to refuse you for literally any reason. And she did you the courtesy of outlining that reason for you.”
Actress and comedian Yvette Nicole Brown wrote, “Dear #SuzannaLee if you ever see me out, please introduce yourself and lunch or dinner is immediately on me! #NotAllHeroesWearCapes.”
In the letter, Lee, who is the co-founder of Aspen COVID Testing, explained that “as the owner of this business am going refuse this booking and deny service.” She added, “We cannot support anyone who has pro-actively worked to make this pandemic worse by spreading misinformation, politicizing and DISCOURAGING the wearing of masks and actively dissuading people from receiving life-saving vaccinations.”
Lee offered Owens alternative options to getting a test done. “My team and myself have worked overtime, to exhaustion, unpaid and underpaid this past year, spending our own capital to ensure that our community remains protected,” she noted. “It would be unfair to them and to the sacrifices we have all made this year to serve you.”
Owens fired back via email and a rant posted to her Instagram account. In the email, the hard-right provocateur claimed she “never laughed harder.” She added, “That nobody stopped you from hitting send on such an emotionally unstable and hysterical e-mail leads me to believe that the people who work for you must love, me, and would therefore never deny me this entertainment.” Owens concluded, “It’s hard to pick just one, but I think the best part of your virtue-signaling rant is the arrogant assumption that you’re the only person who can administer a covid test from here to Texas.”
Lab co-owner Isaac Flanagan, interviewed by The Aspen Times on Thursday, said his lab would have tested Owens if she had been exhibiting COVID symptoms, but they turned her away because this was a “non-emergency scenario for someone working proactively to undermine the realities of this devastating pandemic.”
Late last month, the commentator backed out of an appearance at a conservative gathering after she was beset by a “sudden illness,” political writer Zachary Petrizzo revealed on Twitter. Owens was set to give a speech and refused to reschedule, according to Raw Story though she maintains it’s not COVID-19 related.
