Controversial political commentator, host of “The Candace Owens Show” and author Candace Owens took to Twitter in late September to accuse Amazon employees of damaging her books and use the accusations to encourage her supporters to buy the next round of released copies more quickly.
Owens, a liberal-turned-conservative, is a supporter of President Donald Trump and has been a leader of the “Blexit” movement, a nonprofit organization “dedicated to the advancement of urban and minority communities.”
She recently wrote a book called, “Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation,” which was released on September 15, 2020, on Amazon.
Candace Owens Showed a Photo of What Appeared to Be the Damaged Cover of Her Book
Dear @amazon. About 1,000 people have written to let me know that your employees appear to be stomping on and in this case, smearing Vaseline on my books before mailing them. I know it must have pained you to ship out all 90,000 copies you had in stock— but this is unacceptable.
In a tweet she released just four days after her book hit the open market, Owens wrote, “Dear @amazon. About 1,000 people have written to let me know that your employees appear to be stomping on and in this case, smearing Vaseline on my books before mailing them. I know it must have pained you to ship out all 90,000 copies you had in stock— but this is unacceptable.”
Owens received responses from some other recipients of the book, who said it was damaged. On October 4, one woman wrote that she received a copy with fingerprints and smudges all over it:
@RealCandaceO @amazon We just received our copy from Amazon and it also has smear marks all over the cover, but they don’t smudge or wipe off. It’s like they’re permanent. And they also have fingerprints in them! These photos don’t pick up all the smudges, but you get the idea.
Another person tweeted, “Just got my copy. And yes, the cover was smeared.”
Many on Twitter seemed angry on Owens’ behalf:
“Petty f****** company. What is happening in this world. Honestly. Candace if you run for president in 2024 I am voting for you. You would win and be the best president ever,” another person tweeted.
Some said cameras would be enough to identify and stop the culprits, encouraging Owens to get a lawyer: “Despicable,” someone else tweeted. “Hopefully camera will identify those responsible in order for them to be held accountable and fired.”
Amazon Help responded to some of the messages offering assistance, such as in this case: “Thank you for bringing this to our attention! We’d like to offer that one of our Social Media team look into this matter for you. You can use this secure link: https://amzn.to/3lCdZuh to provide us with your information, and we’ll review the matter and be in touch with you! ^JH.”
Heavy has reached out to Amazon PR for comment and will update the story with the company’s response if it is received.
Others on Twitter Accused Owens of Lying to Sell More Books
Some, like this Twitter user, suggested Owens made up the accusations to try and sell more books.
@RealCandaceO @amazon Dear @amazon this is just Candace’s way of trying to actually get folks to buy her book… please forgive her she’s just craving attention she was hoping for more than 90,000 copies being sold.
Others pointed out that Amazon employees are closely monitored and under very strict time restraints, which employees highlighted in John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” piece on Amazon warehouses reported as true.
“Not buying it,” one person tweeted. “Amazon uses robotic sorters and humans to select, package, and send out items. This is done at high rates of speed on an assembly line type of situation. Not likely anyone takes the time to “desecrate” your collection of Republican talking points.”
Even someone who said they were one of her supporters said that damage taking place was unlikely. “@RealCandaceO I actually support you, but unfortunately not this blatant lie. If 1000 of your books were delivered damaged, people would be fired. Especially since we can track who stows, picks and packs each item. AA’s are timed and cameras are everywhere; very tacky Candace,” one Twitter user wrote.
One person even challenged her to hire a lawyer if she truly believed Amazon employees were damaging her product. “LOL. Hire a lawyer. Amazon can tell you where every single book shipped from and who handled it from the stower to the packer. And all of it’s on camera. So hire a lawyer, and they’ll find nothing,” they wrote.
Someone else accused Owens of slander, tweeting, “I think it’s interesting that damaged books means it’s assumed intentional. Not only intentional but political. Unless you have proof this is slander against amazon and it’s employees. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of Bezos, but doesn’t he have the most to lose under a democrat.”
“This… never happened,” one person on Twitter wrote. Another tweeted, “The real filth is on the inside.” Yet another person took a more personal hit at Owens, sarcastically tweeting, “..and they changed alot of the words because it’s s*** and doesn’t make sense.”
@RealCandaceO @amazon Is there any chance that this can be attributed to shotty workmanship by the bookbinder? I mean, because warehouse workers at Amazon have time to stomp on books like Lucy on grapes. 🙄
Others proposed reasons for how it could have happened accidentally, such as a pallet of the books falling off a loader. “Sure (Candace), Amazon employees have the time to check out everyone’s purchase, approve or disapprove it before packaging & shipping it…lol. Maybe a pallet just fell off the loader…,” someone tweeted.
Another tweeted, “As you are aware, over 75% of the pick and pack operations at Amazon are handled by machines. Probably a production issue and not the staff packing the books. However, this is great press and will definitely help you sell more books. Well done!”
Others blamed Owens and said the material used for the book cover was probably too cheap. “This is what happens when you choose a cheap matte finish on your book cover. If you read books on a regular basis you would know that,” one person tweeted.
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