Tomi Lahren
| Tomi Lahren | |
|---|---|
 Lahren in 2016 | |
| Born |
August 11, 1992 Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
| Residence | Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Occupation | Television host, political commentator |
| Employer | TheBlaze |
Tomi Lahren (born August 11, 1992) is an American television and online video host and a conservative political commentator. She currently hosts Tomi for TheBlaze.[1] She was previously the host of On Point with Tomi Lahren on One America News Network (OAN).[2][3]
Lahren primarily gained fame in 2016 through her video monologues on Facebook from her "Final Thoughts" segment from her show on TheBlaze. These videos have earned millions of "likes" and "shares" on Facebook. She has been a vocal critic of the 2016 U.S. national anthem protests started by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and she has also been highly critical of the Black Lives Matter movement. Her most watched video (with 66 million views) is one in which she criticizes Kaepernick for his protest. In November of 2016, BBC News labeled Lahren as "the young Republican who is bigger than Trump on Facebook." [4]
Early life
Lahren was born on August 11, 1992.[5] She grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota, in a military family, and attended Central High School.[6][7] She is of Norwegian and German heritage.[8] She graduated from UNLV in 2014 and moved to San Diego shortly thereafter. Lahren also hosted and was an associate producer for the political roundtable show, The Scramble for her university's television program.[9] She also interned for Republican congresswoman Kristi Noem, serving as the first intern for Noem's Rapid City office.
Career
Hoping to find an internship in political commentary, Lahren applied to OAN, obtained an interview, and was instead offered the opportunity to host her own show. She moved to San Diego, California and began working for OAN. On Point debuted in August 2014.[2][6][10]
In July 2015, a video of her commentary concerning the 2015 Chattanooga shootings became a widely distributed video and garnered international press.[11] Prior to this event, Lahren caused a smaller wave of press attention in March 2015 when she appeared at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, and deflected the stereotype of Republicans as "old, rich, white males" by comparing them to the top Democratic presidential candidates as "Hillary, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden. Old, rich, white, and if the pantsuit fits ... male too?"[12]
On August 19, 2015, Lahren announced that she had completed her last show with OAN. She moved to Texas, and began a new show with TheBlaze in November 2015.[13]
On November 30, 2016, Lahren appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah for a 26-minute interview segment that went viral the following day. Many critics compared her appearance with former host Jon Stewart's friendly rivalry with Bill O'Reilly.[14][15][16]
Controversies
In February 2016, Lahren's criticism of Beyoncé's performance at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show[17] as supporting the Black Panthers caused controversy.
In July 2016, Lahren issued a tweet comparing the Black Lives Matter movement to the Ku Klux Klan. As a result, tens of thousands of people signed a Change.org petition asking for her to be fired from TheBlaze.[18]
In November 2016, Lahren released a video on the protests against Donald Trump.[19] She commented that "a bunch of sore losers gathered together isn't a protest, it's a tantrum."[20]
References
- ↑ "The Latest Big-Time Addition to TheBlaze TV Lineup Makes Her Debut — and She's Got a Message for Hillary | Video". TheBlaze.com. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- 1 2 Tomi Lahren tweet on first broadcast, August 8, 2014
- ↑ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38021995
- ↑ Wendling, Mike. "Tomi Lahren: the young Republican who's bigger than Trump on Facebook". BBC News.
- ↑ Tomi Lahren tweet on her 22nd birthday, twitter.com
- 1 2 Hammond, Christy (September 21, 2014). Rapid City woman anchors political talk show at 22, Rapid City Journal
- ↑ Soderlin, Barbara (May 7, 2010). Teens gear up for first job hunt, Rapid City Journal
- ↑ "Tomi Lahren: the young Republican who's bigger than Trump on Facebook". BBC. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
- ↑ The Scramble - Episode 315, UNLV Journalism and Media Studies, youtube channel
- ↑ Beattie, James (July 20, 2015). Watch: News Anchor Gets Fed Up With Obama, Says What Everyone's Thinking In EPIC Rant, Western Journalism Center
- ↑ Roller, Emma (March 17, 2015). How One TV Channel Is Positioning Itself to Be the Next Fox News, National Journal
- ↑ "Tomi Lahren". The Blaze. November 8, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ↑ Deerwester, Jayme (December 1, 2016). "After that 'Daily Show' interview, is Tomi Lahren Trevor Noah's Bill O'Reilly?". USA Today. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ↑ Bradley, Laura (December 1, 2016). "The Daily Show Just Got One Step Closer to Reviving the Spirit of Jon Stewart". Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ↑ O'Neal, Sean (December 1, 2016). "Trevor Noah has his best interview yet with living Facebook screed Tomi Lahren". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Beyonce's 'Formation' Is Activism for African Americans, Women and LGBTQ." Time.com (February 8, 2016): 33. Middle Search Plus, EBSCOhost (accessed November 14, 2016).
- ↑ http://college.usatoday.com/2016/07/13/over-56000-people-want-tomi-lahren-fired-from-the-blaze-after-kkk-tweet/
- ↑ Bryant, Nick. "CLINTON VS TRUMP HOW DID IT COME TO THIS?." Australian Women's Weekly 86, no. 3 (March 2016): 86. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File, EBSCOhost (accessed November 14, 2016).
- ↑ Bode, Mark. 2016. "INTERVIEW: TOMI LAHREN." Harvard Political Review 43, no. 3: 40. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File, EBSCOhost (accessed November 14, 2016).
External links
- The Blaze: Tomi Lahren (official website)