Jamie Lee Curtis is receiving both praise and backlash for her comments about Charlie Kirk.
The actress, who is known for publicly discussing her liberal views, got emotional while talking about the conservative activist’s death on the Monday, September 15, episode of the WTF with Marc Maron podcast. “Charlie Crist was killed two days ago. I’m sorry. Kirk. I just call him Crist, I think, because of Christ, because of his deep, deep belief,” she stated. “I mean, I disagreed with him on almost every point I ever heard him say, but I believe he was a man of faith.”
She added, “I hope in that moment when he died that he felt connected to his faith, even though I find what — his ideas were abhorrent to me. I still believe he’s a father and a husband and a man of faith, and I hope whatever connection to God means that he felt it.”
Curtis went on to express concern over how social media and modern-day technology have allowed footage of tragedies to become more accessible. “We didn’t have DVDs. We didn’t have VHS. They didn’t put them on TV,” she said. Using footage of the 9/11 attacks as an example, Curtis added, “Today, we as a society are bombarded with imagery, so we don’t know what the longitudinal effects of seeing those towers come down over and over and over and over again, or watching his execution over and over and over again.”
“I don’t ever want to see this footage of this man being shot,” Curtis stated, to which Maron replied, “I didn’t watch it. I think it diminishes the depth of humanity.”
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Curtis wrapped up the discussion by questioning, “If that’s the case, then is that the reason why we’re all feeling this lack of humanity? Because we are just saturated with this image. These images.”
Many social media users praised Curtis for displaying sympathy over Kirk’s death despite their political differences. “WOW. I certainly DID NOT expect that from Jamie Lee Curtis. This is how adults should behave,” one X user said of her comments, while another added, “Here is someone who absolutely gets it. Class act, Jamie.”
“Thank you Jamie for having a conscience and being a human being. Not many others with those qualities these days it seems,” another X user wrote. Someone else shared, “I respect that she feels sympathy even though she disagreed with him.”
Others was surprised by the Oscar’s winner’s strong reaction to Kirk’s death, given his opposing beliefs on topics such as gender identity and the LGBTQ+ community. (Curtis is a well-known LGBTQ+ advocate and has supported her daughter Ruby Guest since she publicly came out as transgender in 2021.)
“Jamie- history is FULL of men who did horrible things in the name of their ‘faith,’” one person wrote via X. Another tweeted, “Idk, her words sound different…referring to his words as abhorrent as she sounds like she is crying. I want to see her face but maybe she is sincere.”
“Yes Jamie he was a husband and a father, all the more reason he should have stayed out of running his mouth against a free people,” a different X user stated. Someone else shared, “I understand her empathizing for his family as a mom, but how was Charlie an actual man of faith when he used religion for his personal gain (wording it delicately)? His death doesn’t erase his terrible actions, and the effect they *still have on people like her daughter.”
Kirk — who famously cofounded the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA — was shot and killed while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10. Kirk’s suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, has been arrested and could face multiple charges.
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