I was informed some of Big Bear’s gamma haters were theorizing that I simply invented The Daily Beast interview with Owen Benjamin because they couldn’t find it there or anywhere else. They clearly don’t understand the way the media works, which is to bury an article or an interview if it doesn’t happen to support the narrative they were seeking to push by publishing the piece.
These forwarded emails should suffice to demonstrate that the interview actually took place. And yes, I absolutely advise never talking to the media. The thing is, big bears aren’t VFM and they don’t obey me, they do whatever they want to do. Furthermore, Owen wasn’t the only person The Daily Beast reporter, William Sommer, contacted in connection with the piece.
As to why Mr. Sommer never ran the interview or sent questions to Messrs. Mann and Randazza, you would have to ask him. Perhaps he only published it for his newsletter, although why he would have a deadline for his own newsletter, I do not know.
Subject: Media request – Owen Benjamin / Patreon lawsuit
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2020 20:10:43 +0000
From: William Sommer
Hi Phil,
My name’s Will Sommer, I”m a reporter with The Daily Beast. I’m writing an item for my newsletter on how Owen Benjamin’s fight with Patreon appears to have backfired on his fans, who, as I’m sure you know, are now being sued themselves by Patreon.
Wanted to reach out in case you, Owen, or the other lawyer on the case are interested in commenting. Looking at an end of day Thursday deadline.
Thanks for your time
Will Sommer
Reporter, The Daily Beast
william.sommer@thedailybeast.com
@willsommer
From: William Sommer
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2020 7:15 PM
Subject: Re: Hi it’s Owen Benjamin.
Thanks Owen, will write me up and send them over.
From: William Sommer
Date: Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 8:30 PM
Subject: Re: Hi it’s Owen Benjamin.
Hi Owen,
Thanks for getting back to me. Forgive the late email but I wanted to get this over once I had it ready– like I said, my deadline isn’t until Thursday, June 24, close of business, so no rush on this.
In terms of the lawsuit:
-Patreon says you urged your fans to file claims against Patreon to punish the site, through arbitration costs, for ending your account? Do you think that’s a fair account of what happened?
-Did your fans realize, when they filed the arbitration complaints, that they could potentially get sued? It strikes me that some of these people might not have realized their names and locations would be outed. In that way, do you think this plan backfired?
-Do you have plans to cover your fans’ legal fees or expenses?
In terms of your background:
-You’ve been described as “alt right” and engaging in “Holocaust denial” in articles, including Bethany Mandel’s in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Do you think those are accurate descriptions?
Feel free to add anything else on the case you’d like to share.
Thanks!
Will Sommer
Reporter, The Daily Beast
william.sommer@thedailybeast.com
@willsommer