A public feud has erupted among several prominent conservative media figures after Ben Shapiro accused fellow commentators of giving airtime to antisemitic voices and allowing conspiracy theories to spread amid debate over the war involving Iran.
The dispute has drawn in a number of high-profile personalities across the right-leaning media landscape, including Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Piers Morgan.
Shapiro, co-founder of The Daily Wire, escalated the conflict this week by accusing Morgan of providing a platform to extremist voices. He said he would not appear on Morgan’s program, Piers Morgan Uncensored, for that reason.
According to Shapiro, Morgan’s show had featured “actual Nazis and the Nazi-adjacent.” He also described the program as the “Jerry Springer of political television” while criticizing Morgan for inviting comedian Dave Smith, who has been outspoken in his criticism of Israel, onto the show.
Shapiro circulated a montage of clips from Morgan’s program showing guests making controversial statements. Morgan responded by accusing Shapiro of misrepresenting the interviews by omitting portions where he challenged those remarks.
“It’s outrageously disingenuous that the clips he showed did not include the parts of those interviews where I called out every single one of them about things I didn’t agree with,” Morgan said while addressing the controversy on his show.
Morgan defended his editorial approach by arguing that interviewing controversial figures does not amount to endorsing their views.
“You can take the view, as many do, that interviewing people with extreme opinions is pointless,” Morgan said, adding that ignoring those voices does not make them disappear.
Kelly also entered the dispute, defending Morgan and criticizing Shapiro during an episode of The Megyn Kelly Show. Kelly, who said she had known Shapiro for years, rejected the idea that he should dictate who others invite onto their programs.
“It’s very sad to me as somebody who’s known Ben forever,” Kelly said, adding that she believed he was trying to “police the guests on somebody else’s show.”
Kelly said their relationship deteriorated after remarks Shapiro made during an event hosted by Turning Point USA in December following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. At the event, Shapiro warned Republicans about “charlatans” and “grifters” who spread conspiracies and misinformation.
The comments were widely interpreted as criticism of figures in conservative media who had not publicly condemned remarks made by commentator Candace Owens about the circumstances surrounding Kirk’s death and comments she made about his widow, Erika Kirk.
Carlson has also criticized Shapiro’s comments. During an appearance on Morgan’s show, Carlson questioned why Shapiro had raised concerns about deplatforming and denouncing people at an event honoring Kirk.
Carlson has previously faced controversy for hosting white nationalist activist Nick Fuentes on his program, an appearance that drew widespread criticism and helped fuel Shapiro’s broader complaints about extremist views gaining visibility in conservative media.
Despite being banned from social media for years following the events of January 6, 2021, Fuentes has 1.3 million followers on Twitter and while Meta upheld their ban, video clips of him frequently go viral on Instagram. Despite being plunged into obscurity for years and conservative figures often blacklisting him from events, he is arguably the most influential he’s ever been, bringing into question the efficacy of Shapiro’s preferred approach.
The increasingly public exchange has highlighted growing divisions within the conservative media ecosystem, where prominent personalities often share audiences but disagree sharply over issues such as foreign policy, Israel, and how to handle controversial figures.
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