The Podcast Movement Apologizes for ‘Harmful’ Presence of Conservative Ben Shapiro
By Movieguide® Staff
The Podcast Movement recently apologized after the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro attended their annual convention in Dallas, noting that “though he [Shapiro] was not registered or expected, we take full responsibility for the harm done by his presence.”
While the Podcast Movement issued a mass apology, other podcasters came to the defense of Shapiro and the Daily Wire and his brief visit to the convention to take pictures with fans.
Misty Phillip, founder of Spark Media Ventures, and Jodi Howe, who also attended the convention, said that the announcements from the Podcast Movement are a blatant example of cancel culture and should be rebuked.
“We’ve got to stop this, and we have to accept the fact that we’re not all going to think alike,” Howe told Faithwire. “We don’t get to shut people down when they say and do things that we don’t like, and it’s OK to disagree. It’s OK to disagree without attacking people that have different opinions.”
The Podcast Movement’s initial apology tweet reads, “Hi folks, we owe you an apology before sessions kick off for the day. Yesterday afternoon, Ben Shapiro briefly visited the PM22 expo area near The Daily Wire booth. Though he was not registered or expected, we take full responsibility for the harm done by his presence.”
Hi folks, we owe you an apology before sessions kick off for the day. Yesterday afternoon, Ben Shapiro briefly visited the PM22 expo area near The Daily Wire booth. Though he was not registered or expected, we take full responsibility for the harm done by his presence.
— Podcast Movement at #PM22 (@PodcastMovement) August 25, 2022
“Those of you who called this ‘unacceptable’ are right,” the org said in a follow-up tweet. “The pain caused by this one will always stick with us. We promise that sponsors will be more carefully considered moving forward.”
But whatever was “painfully clear” to the Podcast Movement didn’t stop eager fans from thanking Shapiro for his work in the podcast space, standing for conservative values.
“We actually ran into Ben and he was gracious and kind and stopped and took a picture with us and several other people,” Phillip noted. “So, I was so shocked when I saw the tweets … and I was wondering, ‘What did he do to harm? He was kind and gracious to us.'”
“They were canceling and apologizing for one of the top podcasters,” she added. “It should have been a celebrated thing, and so it was confusing, and it was disappointing, because we were thrilled that he was there and that The Daily Wire was there.”
Despite his cordial attitude towards those at the convention, the Podcast Movement labeled Shapiro as harmful without any explanation—which sets a scary precedent for conservatives in the online arena going forward.
“The word ‘harm’ that was used in that Twitter feed — that’s a very serious word,” Howe explained. “And there’s really no explanation as to why they use that word.”
“Throughout history, there’s been a marketplace of ideas where people have been able to sit down and discuss their opinions and listen and that is no longer the case,” Phillip added. “We’re podcasters. We use our voice to tell stories. And everybody’s story deserves to be told and to be heard, but that’s not what’s what’s happening in the industry. We’re seeing people that believe differently are just canceled for their beliefs.”
The Daily Wire later released a meme video in response to the Podcast Movement highlighting Shapiro’s “harmful” behavior at the event:
WARNING: Some viewers may find the following video of @benshapiro at @PodcastMovement disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised. pic.twitter.com/hBL7kT8y7G
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 25, 2022
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