Dan Crenshaw Tussles With Podcaster Shawn Ryan Over Accusation He Threatened to ‘Whoop His Ass’

Chip Somodevilla/AP

On Thursday via X, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) engaged in a virtual clash with fellow former Navy SEAL and podcaster Shawn Ryan over the accusation that Crenshaw threatened to “whoop his ass.”

The back-and-forth stemmed from a video posted by Ryan on Thursday night, in which he revealed that Crenshaw threatened to sue him for defamation over his past comments on the congressman’s seemingly upscale Christmas parties and socioeconomic status.

Ryan, host of the “Shawn Ryan Show,” said that on September 24th, 2024, Crenshaw sent him a message via Instagram that read, “Some of my boys at [SEAL Team] 6 told me about your indirect swipe at me. From the comment you made, it sounds like you have some beliefs that are based on trendy narratives instead of facts.”

“They want me to remove content, issue a public apology, and stop talking about him,” Ryan continued in the video posted Thursday, which he followed up with copies of the cease-and-desist from Crenshaw’s office. “I’m not going to do any of that.”

Ryan went on to say that he interpreted Crenshaw’s Instagram message as threatening because, in February, the congressman was caught on video saying he would “fucking kill” conservative personality Tucker Carlson if he ever met him.

“Sorry, Shawn, but it is not believable that a fellow SEAL actually read this message and believed I was threatening to ‘whoop his ass,'” wrote Crenshaw on Thursday on X of his 2024 DM.

“He makes some other silly claims in this clickbait video,” continued Crenshaw in his posts. “He claims I hired [DJ] Steve Aoki to play a private party. Never happened. I went to a Steve Aoki performance and bought tickets like everyone else. No idea why he is obsessed with this story.”

On Friday evening, again via X, Crenshaw posed a question to Ryan: “Talk one-on-one. SEAL to SEAL. Your audience. Your platform. Live. If you’re not afraid of the truth, have me on. Yes or no?”