New Zealand has barred conservative influencer Candace Owens from entering their country.
Officials in New Zealand did not refer to Owens’ political views in a statement explaining the ban.
Jock Gilray, a spokesperson for the country’s immigration agency explained that Owens was denied an entertainer’s work permit for New Zealand on the grounds that visas legally cannot be granted to those who have been excluded from another country.
Owens was refused a visa to enter New Zealand for a speaking engagement just weeks after neighboring Australia denied her visa request.
Owens is scheduled to speak at a series of events in several Australian cities and in Auckland, New Zealand, in February and March next year, according to The Associated Press.
The conservative commentator has come under fire for promoting conspiracy theories and antisemitism.
In rejecting her visa request, officials in Australia cited remarks by Owens in which she denied Nazi medical experimentation on Jews in concentration camps during World War II.
“From downplaying the impact of the Holocaust with comments about [Nazi doctor Josef] Mengele through to claims that Muslims started slavery, Candace Owens has the capacity to incite discord in almost every direction,” Immigration Minister Tony Burke told Australian outlets at the time.
“Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else,” Burke added.
Jewish groups in Australia had reportedly urged officials to bar Owens from the country.
Despite Owens’ ban, tickets for the event remain on sale and there is no acknowledgement on the promoter’s website that she has been refused entry to both countries, the AP noted.
