Lauren Chen

[[File:Lauren Chen.webp|thumb|165px|Chen.]]{{youtubenav}}
{{cquote|No one ([[Richard Spencer]] included) is advocating people be killed. Calm down.|||Lauren Chen defending Richard Spencer.<ref>{{a|https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen/status/859776389427470337|Twitter}}</ref>}}
{{cquote|I’m becoming more authoritarian as I get older lol [...] I’m for small government in terms of economics, but social policy? Naahhhhh|||Lauren Chen's shift towards social conservatism and making no sense whatsoever.}}
'''Lauren Elise Donovan''' (née Chen) {{lived|1994}}, formerly known as '''Roaming Millennial''', is a [[Canada|Canadian]] [[YouTube]] vlogger and former BlazeTV host who fancies herself as an Asian [[Lauren Southern]]<ref>https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen/status/1321553444021428224</ref> and promotes [[white nationalist]] talking points.

As of February 2021, Chen's YouTube channel had over 445k subscribers and 60 million views.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170307113140/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLUrVTVTA3PnUFpYvpfMcpg/about</ref> She produced a show called Pseudo-Intellectual for BlazeTV from 2019-2020,<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20210125190722/https://www.theblaze.com/shows/pseudo-intellectual/</ref> but was fired from Blaze in 2024 due to ties to an alleged [[Russia]]n front group.<ref>Ben Smith (September 5, 2024). [https://www.semafor.com/article/09/05/2024/blaze-fires-contributor-linked-to-russian-operation "Blaze fires contributor linked to alleged Russian operation"]. ''Semafor''.</ref> Her YouTube channels were suspended around the same time.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vynck |first=Gerrit De |date=2024-09-06 |title=YouTube takes down right-wing channels linked to DOJ Russia indictments |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/05/youtube-takes-down-tenet-lauren-chen-tenet-russia-doj/ |work=Washington Post |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

===Richard Spencer===
In May 2017, Chen hosted a jovial three-part interview with white supremacist [[Richard Spencer]], never asking anything beyond softball questions.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170510072119/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlOv3BXSyJM Richard Spencer Interview | What is the Alt-Right? (Pt. 1)]. Lauren Chen, YouTube, 2 May 2017.</ref> Chen received heavy criticism for her approach to this interview, most notably from the YouTuber [[ContraPoints]]. In response, Chen defended Spencer by claiming "No one (Richard Spencer included) is advocating people be killed"<ref>{{a|https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen/status/859776389427470337|Twitter}}</ref> and asking, "Has it occurred to you that maybe he isn't exactly what the media has been trying to push?"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170510072108/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aail_076c_c To Interview or Not? | Richard Spencer & the Alt-Right (feat. Contrapoints)]. Lauren Chen, YouTube, 5 May 2017.</ref> In November 2019, audio would leak of Richard Spencer going on a racist, anti-Semitic tirade during the deadly [[Unite the Right]] rally.

{{quotebox|It sounds a lot like your problem with the interview was that Richard Spencer came across too well. That he represented his points too reasonably.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170510072108/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aail_076c_c To Interview or Not? | Richard Spencer & the Alt-Right (feat. Contrapoints)]. Lauren Chen, YouTube, 5 May 2017.</ref>}}

{{quotebox|It's interesting how those criticizing the interview have decided to attack me but have yet to argue against anything Spencer said in it.<ref>{{a|https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen/status/861073943440089088|Twitter}}</ref>}}

{{quotebox|I don't know if you guys saw this interview I did with Roaming Millennial (Lauren Chen) but she's a very nice girl; she's very smart. She's basically like an alt-right..I guess sympathetic? She's not really alt-right. She's half Chinese. I think her dad is Chinese. Something like that. But she's a very genuine person. Like again, it's not her fault she's mixed. She's a genuine person and she's open to it.<ref>[https://youtu.be/y1_m7JDnELY?t=407 How Lauren Chen Enables White Nationalism]. Godless Cranium, YouTube, 8 November 2019.</ref>}}

===Nick Fuentes===
Chen has defended white supremacist and Holocaust denier<ref>{{a|https://twitter.com/CalebJHull/status/1189594371030695937|Twitter}}</ref> [[Nick Fuentes]] on at least three occasions. The first was when he called on his followers (known as groypers) to hijack a [[Charlie Kirk]] speaking event at Ohio State University.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20191029073712/https://twitter.com/NickJFuentes/status/1189083703689003008</ref> During the event's Q&A section, the groypers asked such [[bad faith]] questions as, "How does [[anal sex]] help us win the [[culture war]]?" Another [[groyper]] told the crowd to Google "dancing [[Israeli]]s", which is in reference to an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory alleging that Israel was responsible for [[9/11]].<ref>https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/1/1896408/-Alt-right-trolls-make-life-miserable-for-Charlie-Kirk-and-his-Turning-Point-USA-Culture-War-tour</ref> Following the event, Twitter user Will Chamberlain uploaded a clip of Fuentes going on a vitriolic rant against [[Turning Point USA]]'s support of Israel.<ref>{{a|https://twitter.com/willchamberlain/status/1189579544816181248|Twitter}}</ref> Chen replied in a now deleted tweet by stating, "I don't know about the rest of Fuentes' views, but there's nothing antisemitic in this clip. Is it really that outrageous to ask why TPUSA focuses so much on Israel?"<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20191030225609/https://twitter.com/NickJFuentes/status/1189676822805581824</ref> When Fuentes confronted Chen about deleting the tweet, she clarified, "I deleted the tweet because I was told those guys were from Politicon, not TPUSA. That aside though, '''I do stand by what I said.'''"<ref>{{a|https://twitter.com/thelaurenchen/status/1189931179304214529|Twitter}}</ref>

The second time was after MTV released a documentary titled "White Supremacy Destroyed My Life",<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20191213092657/http://www.mtv.com/episodes/cf3hzt/mtv-news-specials-mtv-news-presents-white-supremacy-destroyed-my-life-season-1-ep-1</ref> which focused in part on Fuentes's hateful rhetoric. Chen was quick to release her own video titled "MTV SCAMS Nick Fuentes."

The third time was on October 15<sup>th</sup> 2023, one week after the terrorist group [[Hamas]] massacred 1200 Israelis and kidnapped over 200 to be taken as hostages in Gaza. Chen praised actual neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes's "balanced and rational take" on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.<ref>https://www.israellycool.com/2023/10/15/glenn-beck-you-have-a-lauren-chen-problem/</ref>

===Soph===
On August 5, 2019, Chen released a video in defense of far-right YouTuber [[Soph]], criticizing YouTube's decision to terminate Soph's channel for hate speech. In her video, Chen simplistically describes Soph as a "foul-mouthed 14-year-old girl talking about politics", yet omits mentioning her anti-black racism, death threat towards YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, and calling for a genocide of all Muslims.<ref>https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/josephbernstein/youtubes-newest-far-right-foul-mouthed-red-pilling-star-is</ref>

===Brittany Sellner===
In 2018, Chen invited alt-right commentator [[Brittany Sellner]] (then Brittany Pettibone) on her channel for an interview.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190204192908/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL1-_g9hS9E Brittany Pettibone Interview | What Makes Us Girls]. Lauren Chen, YouTube, 23 December 2018.</ref> Despite Sellner's record of promoting conspiracy theories, white nationalist rhetoric, and anti-Semitic dog whistling, none of it was addressed during the interview.

===Stefan Molyneux===
In 2019, Chen interviewed [[Stefan Molyneux]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190530023849/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMp7jR-V588&gl=US&hl=en Stefan Molyneux on Immigration & Libertarianism PLUS Borderless & Single, Childless Women]. Lauren Chen, YouTube, 29 May 2019.</ref> where she laughs off the idea of him being a white nationalist, even when in 2018 he has admitted to liking the idea of an "all-white country."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BvaJhwAl4E RWW News: Stefan Molyneux Says His Trip to Poland Sold Him on White Nationalism]. RightWingWatchdotorg, YouTube, 21 December 2018.</ref>

===Lauren Southern===
Chen has promoted ''Borderless'',<ref>https://archive.ph/qIku7</ref> a documentary on the "European Border Crisis" created by [[Canadian]] white nationalist [[Lauren Southern]].
Despite Southern's track record of controversial behavior, including throwing flares at a migrant boat in efforts to stop the boat from arriving at their destination safely, she has introduced Southern's views to her audience in, once again, a jovial manner.

Chen has defended Southern, Brittany Sellner, and Martin Sellner on their ban from the UK,<ref>https://archive.vn/q9xm6</ref> blaming it on there being no [[free speech|freedom of speech]] in Europe. In reality, their motives for coming to the UK were to distribute flyers in a mostly Muslim populace which read: "Allah is gay." They are known to be apart of an extremist group known as [[Generation Identity]].

===Antelope Hill===

In 2024, Lauren Chen reposted a tweet by Antelope Hill reading "I don't think this book should be on the shelf when my friends come over."<ref>https://archive.org/details/chen-antelopehilltweet</ref> Antelope Hill is a white supremacist publishing house which publishes books written by Nazis, and shares its' initials with Adolf Hitler (A.H), Antelope Hill's idol. The tweet is an apparent reference to owners of books published by Antelope Hill needing to hide their Nazi sympathies from their less extreme friends.

==Views==
===Immigration===
Chen is against open border policies and [[globalism]],<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170805020216/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SCYaWyuOgk&gl=US&hl=en</ref> a term that is considered an [[Antisemitism|anti-semitic]] slur.<ref>https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/the-origins-of-the-globalist-slur/555479/</ref> She believes that limiting the amount of immigration will lower the chances of ""cultural ghettos"" from forming, and increase the chances of them assimilating into American culture.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170805020216/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SCYaWyuOgk&gl=US&hl=en</ref>

On several occasions, Chen has made comments hinting at belief in [[the Great Replacement]] conspiracy theory.

{{quotebox|I'm not an ethno-nationalist...but...with the dangers of, you know, population replacement, I do believe that that is still a danger even when talking about high IQ immigrants, and I do believe that, you know, if we were to just open up the United States even to large numbers of skilled immigrants from, let’s say India and China, that, you know, there would be potential danger to American culture, right?<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170805020216/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SCYaWyuOgk&gl=US&hl=en</ref>}}

{{quotebox|I definitely don't want to see whites extinct from the planet at all, and I think if we look at the regressive left, there are active, I think, efforts to try and discourage white people from doing things like having children, to try and encourage population replacement.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170805020216/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SCYaWyuOgk&gl=US&hl=en</ref>}}

{{quotebox|Progressives: Don’t have kids because of climate change. Also progressives: There aren’t enough people here, so we better invite in a ton of migrants to take our place. Also progressives again: Demographic replacement is a conspiracy theory.<ref>{{a|https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen/status/1161638233186459649|Twitter}}</ref>}}

===Abortion===
Chen is against abortion. She claimed on Twitter that “science is on the pro-life side”.<ref>https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen/status/1166375853149884417</ref> In her video called “The [[Badger's Law|TRUTH]] About Abortion & Sex”, she is much more critical of the pro-choice side than the pro-life side. She also pushes pro-life talking points about distinct DNA and the fetus’s heartbeat being detected at 6 weeks, while ignoring the fact that around 90% of abortions happen before 13 weeks<ref>https://www.newsweek.com/vast-majority-abortions-high-income-countries-happen-13th-week-pregnancy-1390295</ref> (with most of those happening before 8 weeks), which is way before a fetus is viable. She also expressed support for crisis pregnancy centres, which are known for misleading vulnerable women, manipulating them into keeping the baby, and strategically setting themselves up next to abortion clinics to confuse women.

===Race===
In a video entitled “People of Color: You Are Not Oppressed” made in response to the protests at Evergreen State College, Chen claims that people of color are not oppressed because on paper they have equal rights and because those students in particular study liberal arts in university, ignoring history and how it has lasting effects. Her video contained numerous logical fallacies which were noticed by many of her critics: [[Strawman|strawmanning]] and [[fallacy of relative privation]], to name a couple. In that video she ignores the effects of [[The War on Drugs]], a policy that started in the [[Nixon]] administration and was used to target minorities and leftists.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbtYCq9kymA</ref>

She has falsely claimed that “black people are more likely to commit crimes than other races”, citing Fox News and far right website Downtrend,<ref>https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/downtrend/</ref> while claiming she is not trying “to go all race realist on you guys”. 

{{quotebox|I'm not going to hold up the United States as an example of successful integrated multiracial society because obviously that's not true. We still have African Americans, black people who have been here for like hundreds of hundreds of years in terms of their lineage, who are still not fully integrated. We see this.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170805020216/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SCYaWyuOgk&gl=US&hl=en</ref>}}

===LGBTQ+===
Chen expressed concern that more people identify as LGBT now than ever before.<ref name="gayer">[https://web.archive.org/web/20190903035250/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROzQcXiqA1k&gl=US&hl=en We're Getting GAYER? Environmental & Genetic Effects on Sexuality] Lauren Chen (2019) YouTube.com</ref> Chen fails to see that people just now feel comfortable being honest about their orientation. There is a huge distinction between how someone identifies, and who someone is actually attracted to. For example, closeted gay men are counted as heterosexuals in surveys. A more accepting environment simply means more honesty (and fewer women being cheated on by their gay husband). Data scientist {{wpl|Seth Stephens-Davidowitz}} reported that the actual prevalence of gay men doesn't appear to vary between states in the U.S. because the percentage of Internet porn searches that are for gay male porn are nearly the same in all states, about 5%. He reports that in states where there is a social stigma against homosexuality that "many more gay men are in the closet than are out".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Opinion {{!}} How Many American Men Are Gay? - The New York Times|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20191012082501/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/opinion/sunday/how-many-american-men-are-gay.html|date=2019-10-12|website=web.archive.org|access-date=2020-05-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=LeVay|first=Simon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-J6kDAAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA9#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=Gay, Straight, and the Reason why: The Science of Sexual Orientation|date=2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=|isbn=978-0-19-029737-4|location=|pages=9|language=en}}</ref> More recent studies also count “mostly heterosexual” people as a distinct category, so some surveys show increases in people reporting LGBT identity simply due to new survey methodologies.

Chen has claimed that homosexuality is mostly the result of the 'environment' based upon the summary of a single identical twin study.<ref name="gayer"></ref> Chen is clearly out of her depth when it comes to interpreting science, since the "environment" in sexual-orientation research largely refers to the pre-natal environment (womb), where the developing foetus is subject to hormone timing, androgen and testosterone exposure, as well as epigenetic shifts. The prenatal environment is significant since it can result in one identical twin with right handedness while the other is left handed. Identical twins also have different heights and other physiological differences which are affected by the prenatal environment. Chen apparently believes identical twins should be perfect clones, and like many other social conservatives, almost immediately assumes 'environment' must mean the ''psychosocial'' environment, which is a very weak predictor of sexual orientation, especially in men.<ref>[https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1529100616637616 Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science] Bailey et al. (2016) ''Journal of Psychological Science in the Public Interest''</ref> She also appears to be ignorant of biological differences between heterosexuals and non-heterosexuals, i.e. gay men react positively to male pheromones while lesbians react positively to female pheromones, lesbians often have masculine inner ear structures, gay men have fingerprint density which resembles straight women, while lesbians have fingerprint density which resembles straight men (on average), gay men are shorter than straight men while lesbians are taller than straight women (on average).<ref>[https://nymag.com/news/features/33520/ The Science of Gaydar] (2007) NYmag.com</ref> These are just a few indicators of the biological underpinnings of non-heterosexuality. The social environment certainly contributes to people being honest about their non-heterosexuality; in accepting environments they come out, while in highly conservative environments they stay closeted to avoid sanctions.

Chen has criticized pride parades, once tweeting that they are "no longer about LGBT rights, they're about exhibitionism" alongside a video of a man twerking. After some criticism for conflating all gay people with exhibitionism, she replied "I’m not conflating them with Pride. I’m saying our culture is obsessed with exhibitionism and often conflates it with social activism", and referred to the dancing in the video as "degenerate".<ref>[http://archive.ph/vrEZK Pride tweets (archived)] Lauren Chen (2019) twitter.com</ref> Objectively speaking, the video wasn't even that "degenerate" since the man was fully dressed.

Chen approaches trans issues from the viewpoint of [[transmedicalism]], believes human brains are inherently gendered, and conflates sex with gender.<ref>https://archive.ph/jGE1w</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170418005132/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69QBODgzJI8&gl=US&hl=en</ref> She cited the work of highly controversial psychologist [[Satoshi Kanazawa]], whose work has been heavily criticized and accused of being pseudoscientific. She does not believe in [[non-binary]] gender identities and has mocked [[non-binary]] singer Sam Smith’s gender identity.<ref>https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen/status/1252321433629462530</ref> She has even called [[non-binary]] people the derisive term ''[[Transphobia#Selective transphobia|transtrenders]]''.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20160925223451/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf1NT_brKd0&gl=US&hl=en</ref>

===Religion===
Chen now identifies as a "Christian nationalist,"<ref>https://archive.ph/iBcz9</ref> and claims that "Christianity is the only path away from degeneracy."<ref>{{a|https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen/status/1067642493192364032|Twitter}}</ref> She has also collaborated with the fundamentalist Christian duo Girl Defined, who have written homophobic blog posts.<ref>https://www.girldefined.com/same-sex-attraction-and-the-christian-girl</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20171122161901/https://www.girldefined.com/keeping-marriage-straight-bible-never-recognizes-gay-marriage</ref> Chen claims the duo "do an amazing job" and are "a great resource."<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20190713180412/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu0VUhWMV78</ref>

{{quotebox|Modern western society is a hot bed of degeneracy. [...] I don’t advocate for or support modern progressive secularism.<ref>{{a|https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen/status/1080540500296380416|Twitter}}</ref>}}

{{quotebox|I honestly find it really really hard to defend what the West has become sometimes. Just on principle, I think right now, '''a crusade may be exactly what we need.'''<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20190618134657/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5_9PlBS5gk&gl=US&hl=en</ref>}}

She claims that separation of church and state, equality of races and sexes (politically for the sexes), are biblically supported. She also believes there is a breakdown of the family and that there is a rise of narcissistic hedonism and that it is degenerate.<ref>https://archive.ph/9ehru</ref> 

Lastly, she claims that Christians are happier than atheists, but provides no evidence for this claim.<ref>https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen/status/1074329812846694400</ref>

===Feminism===
Chen is against feminism, including the [[United States Constitution#19th Amendment|19<sup>th</sup> Amendment]] of the United States Constitution that [[women's suffrage|provided women with the right to vote in elections]].<ref>(April 15, 2024). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pUvh-EcOaY "Lauren Chen Doesn't Believe In Democracy Or Letting Women Vote"]. ''Right Wing Watch'' (YouTube).</ref> She purports herself to be a traditional woman, writing articles for ''[[Evie Magazine]]''<ref>https://www.eviemagazine.com/author/lauren-chen/</ref> against hookup culture and modern dating culture and making a video for [[PragerU]] about how women should date with a purpose: to get married.<ref>https://twitter.com/prageru/status/1227979743363915776</ref> She is against casual sex. She’s claimed that masculinity is under attack by feminists, that “men are more effeminate now than they used to be”, and that masculinity isn’t appreciated as much anymore.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20181226021101/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A1HlBhoVUY</ref>

==Useful idiot==
{{main|Useful idiot}}
A 2024 US Justice Department indictment alleged that Tenet Media was a [[Front group|front company]] for the Russian government.<ref name=cohen>[https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/04/politics/doj-alleges-russia-funded-company-linked-social-media-stars/index.html DOJ alleges Russia funded US media company linked to right-wing social media stars] by Zachary Cohen et al. (September 5, 2024) ''CNN''.</ref> Tenet Media is purportedly a project of Chen and her husband Liam Donovan. Chen was fired by her [[TheBlaze|Blaze TV]] shortly after it was revealed of her connection to Tenet.<ref name=cohen/> In addition, YouTube terminated both her own channel and that of Tenet.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/05/youtube-takes-down-tenet-lauren-chen-tenet-russia-doj/|title= YouTube takes down right-wing channels linked to DOJ Russia indictments
|last= De Vynck|first= Gerrit|date= 2024-09-05|website= The Washington Post|publisher= The Washington Post|access-date= 2024-09-11|quote=}}</ref>

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20201101070555/https://www.youtube.com/laurenchen Her YouTube]
*[https://twitter.com/TheLaurenChen Her Twitter]
*[https://www.facebook.com/Lauren-Chen-1213352768743538/ Her Facebook page]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20190509160446/https://www.facebook.com/LaurenChenBlazeTV/ Her BlazeTV Facebook page]
*[https://www.instagram.com/thelaurenchen/ Her Instagram]
*[https://www.tiktok.com/@thelaurenchen Her TikTok]
*[https://www.eviemagazine.com/author/lauren-chen/ Her articles for Evie Magazine]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Lauren}}
[[Category:Alt-lite]]
[[Category:Anti-Catholicism]]
[[Category:Antifeminism]]
[[Category:Antisemitism]]
[[Category:Bloggers]]
[[Category:Canadians]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Conservative deceit]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Fascists]]
[[Category:Great Replacement conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Homophobes]]
[[Category:Internalized discrimination]]
[[Category:Internet kooks]]
[[Category:Islamophobes]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Political pundits]]
[[Category:Purity culture]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Right-wing activists]]
[[Category:Sexists]]
[[Category:Transphobes]]
[[category:Trumpism]]
[[Category:Vatniks]]
[[Category:YouTube]]

Categories: Alt-lite, Anti-Catholicism, Antifeminism, Antisemitism, Bloggers, Canadians, Christians, Conservative deceit, Conspiracy theorists, Fascists, Great Replacement conspiracy theorists, Homophobes, Internalized discrimination, Internet kooks, Islamophobes, Living people, Political pundits, Purity culture, Racists, Right-wing activists, Sexists, Transphobes, Trumpism, Vatniks, YouTube