Stephen King has apologised after falsely claiming in a social media post that conservative activist Charlie Kirk had “advocated stoning gays to death.” The horror author deleted his original tweet and issued an apology following backlash from users who pointed out Kirk’s public support for LGBT rights.
King, 77, had responded to a Fox News host’s post that described Kirk as not “controversial” or “polarising.” In a since-deleted tweet, King wrote: “He advocated stoning gays to death. Just sayin’.” After criticism, King deleted the tweet and apologised, stating: “What he actually demonstrated was how some people cherry-pick Biblical passages.”
The apology came amid the tragic news that Kirk, 31, was shot dead on Wednesday during his ‘American Comeback Tour’ at Utah Valley University. A suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was arrested after more than a day of searching. Utah Governor Spencer Cox condemned the political violence, calling Kirk’s assassination an attack on all Americans and free speech.
Senator Ted Cruz had called King a “horrible, evil, twisted liar” following the initial post. King responded by apologising and admitting he failed to fact-check. “This is what I get for reading something on Twitter w/o fact-checking. Won’t happen again,” King wrote. He also replied to several other critics, repeating his apology and acknowledging Kirk never advocated stoning gays.
According to investigators, Robinson told family members that Kirk was “full of hate” in the months before the shooting. Officials said Robinson “confessed” or implied he fatally shot Kirk to a family member. Kirk was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit focused on engaging young people with conservative ideas.
