The Skims model at the center of Candace Owens’ best tirade says she is “disgusted” by the controversial talk show host’s comments.
Owens slammed a new Skims campaign that featured paraplegic model Haleigh Rosa in her wheelchair wearing the Skims adaptive bralette and panties designed specifically for people with disabilities.
The conservative presenter called the campaign “ridiculous” in an episode of her show last month, drawing the ire of actress Christina Applegate and disability activists online.
“I don’t really understand how far we’re going in this inclusivity thing. I really don’t get it,” Owens, 33, said as she showed Rosa’s photo, adding that she’s “tired of this inclusivity thing.”
Rosa, 34, now tells DailyMail.com: ‘Her words are very disturbing. To attach my body to her words – I felt like I had to speak up. She was talking about something she has no idea about.’
Candace Owens slammed a Skims ad that featured paraplegic model Haleigh Rosa in her wheelchair wearing the Skims adaptive bralette and panties designed specifically for people with disabilities
Owens called Skims’ adaptive campaign “ridiculous” and said she is “getting tired of this inclusivity thing”
“I don’t really understand how far we’re going in this inclusivity thing. I really don’t get it,” Owens, 33, said as she showed Rosa’s photo, adding that she’s “tired of this inclusivity thing”
Rosa, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident eight years ago, said she had never heard of Candace Owens and was alerted to her comment by a friend.
“The most scandalous thing is not only that she thinks us [people with disabilities] shouldn’t be in an adaptive campaign, she thinks we shouldn’t be in any campaign. I am a human. I don’t only wear custom clothes, but also regular clothes,’ said Rosa.
The adaptive Skims line has front and side attachments to make it easier for people with physical limitations.
Owens said, “I don’t really understand how far we’re going with this inclusivity thing. I really don’t get it. Don’t know. If I’m wrong, please educate me. I just want to be educated in the comments. I don’t know why this has to be. I’m just getting tired of this inclusivity thing. It seems ridiculous.
‘Look, I assume people in wheelchairs also have to buy bras, buy underwear, I just assume that’s a thing. I didn’t know we had to see that in our faces,” she continued. “I didn’t know we now have to look at campaigns where women in wheelchairs now wear bras and underwear because as a society we can’t fathom our ridiculousness.”
Rosa said, “I think she was uneducated. I don’t think she has journalistic integrity. She obviously didn’t do any research. If it took her five seconds, she’d understand the campaign.’
The South Florida native said Owens apologized days later.
“She called me and apologized, if you want to call it that,” Rosa said. “It was insincere. She said sorry but I know her views are the same. She didn’t want to learn.’
Owens was back on her show on The Daily Wire to detail that apology in an episode titled “Sorry, Representation Does Not Matter.”
“If I was a model on this campaign and I heard Candace say ‘what is this’ I would probably be offended. So I apologize to her,” Owens said.
But she went on to say that appearing in the ad was a “participation trophy” for people with disabilities and called it “patronizing.”
Rosa said, “Her apology was along the lines of ‘we’ll have to agree to disagree.’
Rosa said Owens was uneducated. “I don’t think she has journalistic integrity. She obviously didn’t do any research. If she took five seconds to look at it, she would understand the campaign,” she said
The South Florida resident said Owens apologized days later, but said the apology was “insincere”
Rosa has modeled for top brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Skims and Off-White and hopes for more inclusive campaigns
Rosa, who was previously a reporter in North Dakota, has modeled for top brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Skims and Off-White and hopes to see more inclusive campaigns.
“I would love to see more brands reach out and add more people with disabilities to their adaptive clothing campaigns.
“Candace said don’t strive to be just a model — and I’m not just a model,” she said.
Rosa started with the Foundation For Everyone for people with disabilities and is a co-founder of a clean pizza company called young.
Owens is no stranger to her opinion.
She was in the news again last week after interior designer David Netto told her and her husband that he would “rather be beaten up with a wooden plank” than work on their Nashville home.
But her ablest comments on the Skims campaign caught the attention of A-listers.
Actress Christina Applegate – who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021 – took to Twitter to express her outrage at Owens’ comments.
‘Yeah late tweet. But woke up to see the most horrific. This Candace person makes comments about companies seeing we need help. It’s fucking gross,” Applegate said.
“Candace Owens, do you know when you’ve seen pictures of me how damn hard it was to get my clothes on? A team needs to help me!!! So I’m excited about accessibility clothing for me and my community. I hope you wake up,” Applegate wrote.
Actress Christina Applegate – who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021 – took to Twitter to express her outrage at Owens’ comments
Applegate expressed her outrage in a series of tweets
Owens responded to Applegate’s tweets trying to clarify her comments and apologized
She then contacted Owens and wrote that she was willing to talk to her.
“I thought my last tweet was enough. But then my heart said something else. No anger. If Candace wants to call me to get education about being disabled. I will not come with anger. I come with love. Because she needs to hear that. I pray for her tonight. Sincerely,” Applegate added.
Owens himself replied, writing, “Hey Christina – big fan of yours.” Would like to have a conversation with you. Open DMs ❤️’
“I think Christina, what you may have missed is that covering absurd DEI initiatives is a recurring rhythm on my show.”
“We actually didn’t know that this particular ad featured a specific technology designed for people with disabilities, which was a genuine mistake,” Owens admitted.
She added in another tweet: “What we thought it was at the time was yet another nonsensical DEI ‘representation matters’ initiative, which I feel strongly patronizes the people it claims to represent. (Example: clinically obese people modeling bathing suits). This wasn’t it and we were just wrong.’
‘We make a show 5 days a week. There’s no way we wouldn’t make an honest mistake at some point. If you felt personally attacked by this mistake, I apologize. We just didn’t know (the ad didn’t say) that the underwear was made for the disabled,” Owens wrote.