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Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren fired from The Blaze, reports say

Posted at 5:41 PM, Mar 26, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-27 12:29:17-04

Tomi Lahren, a host on the conservative network The Blaze, has reportedly been fired by the network after saying she supports a woman's choice to have an abortion during a March 17 episode of the ABC show "The View."

The New York Post was first to report that Lahren was dismissed from the right-wing network. The Blaze has not confirmed the report yet, and Lahren still has a biography on the network's website. 

Lahren was sidelined by the network last week after making the pro-choice comments, which reportedly upset leaders at her network, including the network's founder Glenn Beck. 

"Freedom of speech, it’s not free. Speech isn’t free," Beck said last week in response to Lahren's suspension. "It comes with a very high price tag. First, being intellectually honest and intellectually curious. Speech is not free. It comes with another cost and usually to the other people at the other end of your argument. The pen is mightier than the sword, and it can destroy people if your aim is clicks, views, and ratings."

Lahren's stance on abortion differs from President Donald Trump, who Lahren supported in the recent election. During the 2016 campaign, Trump vowed to appoint a pro-life Supreme Court justice. 

"I am a constitutional (conservative)," Lahren said on "The View." "I am someone that loves the constitution and someone for limited government, so I can't stand here and be a hypocrite and say I am for limited government but tell women what to do with their bodies."

Immediately after her appearance on "The View," Lahren faced immediate backlash from pro-life conservatives. 

One Twitter user wrote to Lahren, "You lost all credibility with the pro choice comment." Another wrote, "She claims to be conservative. She isn't. Credibility gone."

But Lahren took the comments in stride. 

"I speak my truth. If you don't like it, tough. I will always be honest and stand in my truth," Lahren wrote last week. 

"I have moderate, conservative, and libertarian views. I'm human. I will never apologize, to anyone, for being an independent thinker," she added.

Lahren said during her one-week hiatus that she appreciated the encouragement from those who supported her, but disagreed with her. 

"It's heartwarming when women, who may disagree on almost everything, put those differences on pause to show support. Feels good," Lahren tweeted. 

"I will always stand up for free speech and welcome the conversation, even if I disagree with it. Disagreeing and silencing are very different," Lahren said in another tweet.

 

Lahren, 24, has more than 4 million Facebook likes, and her videos on the social media platform are frequently viewed by more than 1 million users.