On Friday, Ben Shapiro launched a scorched earth Twitter thread which exposes the timeline of everything that went down between Steven Crowder and the Daily Wire.
In case you’re not up to speed with the situation, Crowder accused the Daily Wire of being “in bed” with big tech because of a few of the terms in their initial $50 million offer to him, specifically surrounding being docked if certain videos were unable to be monetized on YouTube and other platforms. Keep in mind, Crowder didn’t even take the time to negotiate any of the terms he found disagreeable. The next day, Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing responded with a lengthy video giving an explanation of *why* these terms were in place. Boreing said this initial offer sheet was meant to be the start of the negotiation process, not an “end all be all” contract. However, Crowder was so greatly offended by the terms that he decided to not negotiate whatsoever.
The controversy ramped up when Crowder released severely edited recordings of a call he secretly recorded with Boreing in early January. Ben Shapiro then responded with this very revealing timeline of how things went down, suggesting that this whole controversy was a very well-planned setup:
It's nasty to attack my company and DW+ hosts as "Big Con" by lying about the meaning of a non-binding term sheet. It’s despicable to plan weeks in advance to attack my best friend (and your friend!) by setting up and secretly taping a phone call, all to grow your email list.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 20, 2023
Here is the timeline.
Prior to October 5: Steven's agent requests we send an offer.
October 5: We submit a non-binding term sheet.
November 2: Steven tells Jeremy he wants $30M per year and us to send him a new offer, refusing to red-line the term sheet.— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 20, 2023
~November 14: We told Steven we couldn't do that.
December 12: Steven apparently registers https://t.co/Xiyjas1xN7, knowing he’s leaving the Blaze, and that we haven’t provided him an offer to his liking. Steven needed a plan. Attacking us was the plan.— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 20, 2023
December 15: Steven announces he’s leaving The Blaze.
January 7: Steven texts Jeremy in friendly fashion to ask if they can talk.
January 9: Steven calls Jeremy and secretly tapes him.— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 20, 2023
This means 96 days elapsed between when he received the term sheet and when he secretly taped Jeremy. And it means that 36 days elapsed between when he decided to attack Daily Wire and Jeremy by purchasing StopBigCon and when he called Jeremy to tape him.
Gross.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 20, 2023
Once more, if you actually care about the supposedly horrific non-binding first offer term sheet offering $50M/4 years, Jeremy reads it line-by-line here.
It is quite simple. If your show loses money, you lose money. This is how capitalism works. https://t.co/DlwJqwKMPf
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 20, 2023
You know who knows this? Steven Crowder. That's why he has a "Piss Off YouTube" segment in which he deliberately does not say things that will get him kicked off YouTube, and directs people behind his paywall. He must be a shill for YouTube or something.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 20, 2023
Jeremy Boreing responded to the leaked call:
I would play the part of that call where we talked about our kids, Christmas, and him buying baby formula for his brother’s children, but I wouldn’t even know how to secretly record phone calls with my friends.
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) January 20, 2023
During her podcast on Thursday, Candace Owens said Crowder pulled a “bi**h move”:
.@RealCandaceO on Steven Crowder: "Unrelatable. People are trying to pay for bacon and eggs right now at the grocery store…and you're over here crying because somebody couldn't meet you at $120 million…It was a total bitch move." pic.twitter.com/7LeKQieER8
— Candace Owens Podcast (@candaceowenspod) January 19, 2023
Matt Walsh also went off on the whole situation:
Negotiations ended amicably. Then he called weeks after the fact and secretly recorded the conversation so that he could pull this stunt. It’s one of the lowest things I’ve ever seen in this business. A total betrayal of his friends and people who’ve supported and helped him.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) January 20, 2023
No sane person will ever do business with a man who treats his friends like this and secretly records phone calls with a person he’s known for years. He’ll get his YouTube views out of this though. I hope it was worth it for him.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) January 20, 2023
And if you’re dumb enough to buy the “I’m just looking out for young creators” schtick in that call, I don’t know what to tell you. He knew it was being recorded and that he’d release it. He was performing in the call for an audience. You need to be smart enough to see that.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) January 20, 2023
If we bring in less revenue, the company makes less money and therefore we make less money. The only other option is that we get paid regardless of how much we bring in, which would be an insane way of doing business and a ridiculous thing for anyone to expect. https://t.co/FioW4jtUnW
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) January 20, 2023
What? Our salaries are dependent on the revenue we drive. That's literally how every business operates. It's the very definition of a business. There is no other way to run a business. It's also how Steven Crowder runs his business. What are you not understanding here? https://t.co/ZBNWuWWo5Z
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) January 20, 2023
In case you missed the events that led up to this, here are the videos in sequence:
We will keep you updated as this situation develops…