Ana Kasparian, a co-host of the popular progressive online news show “The Young Turks,” lauded Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro’s fairness in conversation after someone pilloried her for conducting interviews and debates with him.
The pair had a debate back in 2021 and Kasparian was welcomed on Shapiro’s “Sunday Special” show for an hour-long sit-down interview this year. Though the pair disagree fiercely on most issues, both events were cordial and respectful.
In a post published Thursday on X, Kasparian suggested she is willing to speak to Shapiro because he has shown her respect, while she reserves the right to reject conversation with others she doesn’t find respectful — even if they happen to be on the Left politically, as she is.
“Unlike Vaush, Shapiro never once called me ‘retarded’ or a ‘b****’ over disagreements,” Kasparian wrote. Vaush is a popular Left-wing YouTuber and Twitch streamer whose real name is Ian Kochinski.
“That’s how big boys who don’t snort addies during unhinged streams act,” she continued. “I don’t owe anyone a conversation or debate. But I especially have no interest in anti-social creeps like Vaush. Simple.”
Unlike Vaush, Shapiro never once called me “retarded” or a “bitch” over disagreements. That’s how big boys who don’t snort addies during unhinged streams act. I don’t owe anyone a conversation or debate. But I especially have no interest in anti-social creeps like Vaush. Simple. https://t.co/jThgWUiH0l
— Ana Kasparian (@AnaKasparian) August 10, 2023
Kasparian has taken heat from some extremists on the Left for engaging with Shapiro, who is one of the most prominent figures in conservative media.
In 2021, Shapiro and Kasparian debated topics like education, Critical Race Theory, and the news media during a discussion headlining the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry’s annual dinner. Following the debate, Kasparian seemed to address the backlash she received from the Left for engaging in the conversation, emphasizing that it was Shapiro who was “platforming” her, since he had a bigger audience than hers, and his “audience isn’t crying about it.”
“Going to be insufferable for a second to make an important point to those who want to accuse me of being some sort of demon for allegedly ‘platforming’ another demon just by debating Shapiro,” Kasparian started a four-tweet thread.
“I went before a room full of (literally) a thousand people who disagree with me. Health industry lobbyists, health care companies, oil businessmen, Republican politicians were all there in the audience,” she wrote. “No one (except one worker at the venue and my husband) was on my side, and I went in to debate a guy who is admittedly known as a good debater.”
“That took f***ing balls and I’m sick of being underestimated and attacked as some sort of bimbo,” Kasparian said. “I went in because I know I can defend my views assertively.”
“Ben has a bigger following than me. I can assure you he’s platforming me and his audience isn’t crying about it,” she wrote.
“I wish the left was more confident,” Kasparian closed the thread. “We look weak with the platform scolding. I think we’re right on the issues, and I think we can change more minds if we speak to more people.”
Shapiro agreed with Kasparian’s take, calling it “exactly right.”
This is worth the read, and @anakasparian is exactly right https://t.co/Fk5Y7Vlqog
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 7, 2021
Related: ‘I Get So Much Flack For Saying This’: Ana Kasparian Talks Failed Leftist Policies With Ben Shapiro