// Workers AI · dad joke modeWho's Dean Withers? A weaver of withered dreams?
Dean Withers | |
|---|---|
 Withers at Texas A&M University in 2025 | |
| Born | September 1, 2004 |
| Known for | Online political debates |
Political party | Democratic |
| Movement | Liberalism |
| Instagram information | |
| Page | |
| Genre | Politics |
| Followers | 3.7 million |
| Substack information | |
| Notes | @deanwithers |
| Years active | 2025-present |
| Topic | Politics |
| Subscribers | 36,000 |
| TikTok information | |
| Page | |
| Years active | 2022–present |
| Genre | Politics |
| Followers | 7.7 million |
| X information | |
| Handle | |
| Display name | Dean Withers |
| Years active | 2024-present |
| Followers | 495,000 |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2023–present |
| Genre | Politics |
| Subscribers | 957,000 |
| Views | 117 million |
| Last updated: September 30, 2026 | |
Dean Withers (born September 1, 2004) is an American liberal political commentator and live streamer.[1] He gained prominence starting in 2023 for challenging conservative viewpoints on societal issues through debates shared via TikTok and YouTube. He has been featured on Jubilee Media's YouTube series Surrounded, where he has engaged in political debates with conservatives.
Early life
[edit]Withers was born on September 1, 2004.[2] He grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado,[3] with conservative family members, leading him to hold conservative views in his early life.[4][5][6] Withers has said that his father is an engineer, his mother was often unemployed, and that he has two older siblings. He has also said that his parents divorced during his adolescence and that his family experienced financial difficulties. He attended church three times a week and a private Catholic school from preschool through eighth grade. Although he could not yet vote, he considered himself a supporter of Donald Trump.[4]
Once he began attending a public high school in 2018, Withers' political views began to shift toward liberalism. He developed a friendship with a lesbian couple that conflicted with the anti-LGBTQ propaganda he had learned in Catholic school. Withers described the January 6 United States Capitol attack, which happened during his junior year, as "almost, like, the nail in the coffin."[4] He now describes his perspective on religion as agnostic.[7] Withers graduated from high school in 2022 and attended the University of Colorado Boulder, but dropped out after his sophomore year to dedicate more time to streaming prior to the 2024 United States presidential election.[4]
Career
[edit]
The New York Times considers Withers to be part of an "ecosystem of left-leaning influencers", alongside Hasan Piker, Harry Sisson, and Parker Sedgwick. The latter is a friend of Withers.[4]
After graduating from high school, Withers began posting political content on social media in 2022 on issues such as abortion and LGBTQ rights.[4] Leading up to the 2024 presidential election, Jubilee Media featured Withers in two episodes of their Surrounded series on YouTube. He was one of 25 liberal college students who debated Charlie Kirk in the first episode and later returned to debate 20 Trump supporters in another episode.[5]
In 2024, shortly after one of his appearances in a Jubilee episode where he debated Trump supporters, he was criticized online when racist and homophobic messages from 2019 and 2022 were uncovered. Withers later confirmed the messages were real and issued an apology.[8]
Following an online dispute in July 2025, Withers was accused of doxing another content creator and encouraging viewers to contact Child Protective Services (CPS) on a livestream. He denied doxing the creator, stating he had only shared publicly available information.[9]
Upon learning of the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk in September 2025, Withers cried during his livestream.[1][10] His reaction went viral and generated criticism from some of his audience. In response, Withers posted a video in which he explained "...I think Charlie Kirk was a bad person...but does that mean I think he deserves to lose his life? No."[10] He said "I am sad, distraught," and that gun violence "is always disgusting, always vile and always abhorrent".[11][10][1]
In April 2026, Withers alleged that CBS News had filmed a debate with him in Washington, D.C. involving a MAGA influencer, but never aired the segment. He claimed Bari Weiss, who took over CBS News in October 2025, had shelved the production. CBS did not publicly respond to his claims.[12][13]
In August 2026, various unsubstantiated rumors of sexual misconduct by Withers were circulated online, including an allegation that he had sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl. The allegation included screenshots of supposed direct messages between Withers and the alleged victim which showed signs of possible fabrication. Withers publicly denied the allegation, sharing a video from a young girl with no connection to Withers who claimed that her photos were used by the alleged victim to impersonate her.[14] Withers also stated that he had received death threats and was informed of a bomb threat by his local police department.[14]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Tomslee, Don (September 11, 2025). "Dean Withers, Charlie Kirk's rival and liberal commentator's response on his assassination goes viral". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
- ↑ Massie CALLS OUT The Trump Admin For Lying About Epstein. Dean Withers. September 1, 2026. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
It's my birthday! Seriously! I turned 22 today.
- ↑ Calkins, Marie. "GJHS grad on path as political influencer". Archived from the original on April 24, 2025. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Holtermann, Callie (December 19, 2024). "Could This 20-Year-Old Be One of the Democrats' Bro Whisperers?". The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
- 1 2 Lindsay, Kate (November 13, 2024). "'Woke Teen' Dean Withers Debated 20 Trump Voters at Once. Now He Has a Message for Liberals". GQ. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024.
- ↑ Mather, Katie (October 29, 2024). "How a former Trump supporter became YouTube's viral 'woke teen'". Yahoo News. Yahoo. Archived from the original on December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ↑ "i'm agnostic now, however i was confirmed at 16, after 12 years of catholic school. i think i have a decent idea". Twitter. May 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Jubilee star Dean Withers issues apology after racist and homophobic posts resurface". Screenshot Media. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Who is Dean Withers? Streamer accused of doxing another streamer and calling CPS in viral controversy". The Times of India. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Scanlan, Rebekah (September 12, 2025). "Anger at 21yo left-wing activist's reaction to Charlie Kirk's death". news.com.au. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Charlie Kirk: Young fans and critics debate his political legacy". BBC News. September 12, 2025. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- ↑ "Dean Withers Slams CBS Over Unreleased Washington DC Debate Footage". The Nerd Stash. April 27, 2026.
- ↑ "Dean Withers accuses CBS of 'censoring the truth' after his brutal debate scrapped from air". The Mirror. April 25, 2026.
- 1 2 Rascouët-Paz, Anna (August 19, 2026). "Progressive influencer Dean Withers is facing sexual misconduct allegations. Here's what we know". snopes.com. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
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- 2004 births
- Living people
- Activists from Colorado
- American agnostics
- American former Christians
- Colorado Democrats
- Former Roman Catholics
- Liberalism in the United States
- People associated with the 2024 United States presidential election
- People from Grand Junction, Colorado
- TikTokers from Colorado
- YouTubers from Colorado