Dean Withers
{{Short description|American political activist (born 2004)}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=June 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dean Withers
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| education =
| party = Democratic
| known_for = Online political debates
| movement = Modern liberalism in the United States
| module = {{Infobox TikTok personality
| embed = yes
| page = itsdeaann
| followers = 3.3 million
| likes = 58.3 million
| stats_update = May 27, 2025
}}
}}
Dean Withers is a progressive American live streamer and political commentator.
Withers gained prominence starting in 2023 for challenging conservative viewpoints on societal issues through debates shared via TikTok. In 2024, he was featured on Jubilee Media's YouTube series Surrounded, where he engaged in political debates with conservative figures and supporters.
Early life
Withers grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado, with conservative family members, leading him to hold conservative views in his early life.{{Cite web |last=Lindsay |first=Kate |date=2024-11-13 |title='Woke Teen' Dean Withers Debated 20 Trump Voters at Once. Now He Has a Message for Liberals |url=https://www.gq.com/story/dean-withers-message-for-liberals |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213220704/https://www.gq.com/story/dean-withers-message-for-liberals |archive-date=2024-12-13 |website=GQ}}{{Cite news |last=Mather |first=Katie |date=2024-10-29 |title=How a former Trump supporter became YouTube's viral 'woke teen' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/how-a-former-trump-supporter-became-youtubes-viral-woke-teen-200637087.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241210072412/https://www.yahoo.com/news/how-a-former-trump-supporter-became-youtubes-viral-woke-teen-200637087.html |archive-date=December 10, 2024 |access-date=December 17, 2024 |work=Yahoo News |publisher=Yahoo}}{{Cite news |last=Holtermann |first=Callie |date=2024-12-19 |title=Could This 20-Year-Old Be One of the Democrats' Bro Whisperers? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/style/dean-withers-tiktok.html |url-access=limited |access-date=2024-12-19 |work=The New York Times}} He later shared that this conservative upbringing pushed him to educate himself further on political and societal issues, which led to his shift toward a liberal political ideology.{{Cite news |last=Hale |first=Jacob |date=2024-10-22 |title=Who is Dean Withers? Viral political debater becoming left-wing poster boy |url=https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/who-is-dean-withers-viral-political-debater-becoming-left-wing-poster-boy-2956558/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241217223507/https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/who-is-dean-withers-viral-political-debater-becoming-left-wing-poster-boy-2956558/ |archive-date=2024-12-17 |work=Dexerto}}{{Cite news |last=Billson |first=Chantelle |date=2024-10-07 |title=TikTok star Dean Withers apologises for using anti-gay and racist slurs |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/10/07/tiktok-star-dean-withers-apologises-for-using-anti-gay-and-racist-slurs-as-recently-as-2022/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211184853/https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/10/07/tiktok-star-dean-withers-apologises-for-using-anti-gay-and-racist-slurs-as-recently-as-2022/ |archive-date=2024-12-11 |work=PinkNews}}
Political activism
{{External media|topic="Surrounded" episodes featuring Withers, from Jubilee via YouTube|video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV29R1M25n8 "Can 25 Liberal College Students Outsmart 1 Conservative? (feat. Charlie Kirk)"]|headerimage=File:Jubilee logo.png|video2=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68aej2qmCtw "Can 1 Woke Teen Survive 20 Trump Supporters?"]|video3=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK-liQhqPjs "1 Republican vs. 25 Kamala Harris Voters (Feat. Ben Shapiro)"]}}
Withers began sharing political content on social media in 2022 on issues such as abortions and LGBTQ rights.
Leading up to the 2024 United States presidential election, Jubilee Media featured Withers in two episodes of their Surrounded series on YouTube. Withers participated in debates against conservative activist Charlie Kirk.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV29R1M25n8 |title=Can 25 Liberal College Students Outsmart 1 Conservative? (feat. Charlie Kirk) |date=2024-09-08 |type=Video |publisher=Jubilee Media |series=Surrounded |access-date=2024-12-17 |via=YouTube |archive-date=December 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241217221613/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV29R1M25n8 |url-status=live }} In another episode, published on September 20, Withers was surrounded by twenty supporters of Donald Trump, whom he debated individually on various political topics.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68aej2qmCtw |title=Can 1 Woke Teen Survive 20 Trump Supporters? |date=2024-09-20 |type=Video |publisher=Jubilee Media |series=Surrounded |access-date=2024-12-17 |via=YouTube |archive-date=December 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213052029/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68aej2qmCtw |url-status=live }} On October 2, 2024, Withers debated far-right political commentator Nick Fuentes.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=xywjQknDrLsskXy2&v=5N_KwBVmkUU&feature=youtu.be |title=Nick Fuentes vs Dean Withers {{!}} Debate Hosted by Adin Ross & Sneako |date=2024-10-03 |last=AdinRoss Archive |access-date=2024-12-29 |via=YouTube}}{{Better source needed|date=June 2025}} On October 24, Withers was featured in a Jubilee debating against conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK-liQhqPjs |title=1 Republican vs. 25 Kamala Harris Voters (Feat. Ben Shapiro) |date=2024-10-24 |type=Video |publisher=Jubilee Media |series=Surrounded |access-date=2024-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213212055/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK-liQhqPjs |archive-date=2024-12-13 |url-status=live |via=YouTube}}
See also
References
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{{Portal bar|Biography|Liberalism|Politics|United States}}
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Category:Liberalism in the United States
Category:People from Grand Junction, Colorado
Category:Activists from Colorado
Category:People associated with the 2024 United States presidential election