Organizers of a podcast conference on Thursday apologized for the ''harm'' done by Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro's presence at their event in Dallas this week.
''Hi folks, we owe you an apology before sessions kick off for the day. Yesterday afternoon, Ben Shapiro briefly visited the PM22 expo area near The Daily Wire booth. Though he was not registered or expected, we take full responsibility for the harm done by his presence,'' Podcast Movement tweeted.
''There's no way around it: We agreed to sell The Daily Wire a first-time booth based on the company's large presence in podcasting. The weight of that decision is now painfully clear. Shapiro is a co-founder. A drop-in, however unlikely, should have been considered a possibility.''
Podcast Movement was widely roasted for its apology, with Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., tweeting: ''So you were fine taking money from The Daily Wire as long as it stayed hush. Interesting. Also, if the mere presence of @BenShapiro somehow 'harms' you, you need more help than you can find on any self help podcast.''
The convention brings together podcasters and industry leader.
Shapiro, a conservative commentator and podcast host, showed up Wednesday at a booth for The Daily Wire, the company he co-founded after he left Breitbart in 2016.
Podcast Movement didn't make clear what Shapiro had done to ''harm'' attendees.
Shapiro told Reason magazine he was ''in the room and standing there breathing oxygen.''
"That is the entire story. There was no confrontation. No one spoke to me about anything political. Some people asked for pictures and I obliged. That's literally it,'' he said.