Karen Attiah, a columnist for the Washington Post, has said she was fired from the newspaper over social media posts about gun control and race following the killing of far-right commentator Charlie Kirk. Attiah, 39, wrote in a Substack post that she was dismissed after 11 years for “speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America’s apathy toward guns”.
The Post, she said, accused her of “gross misconduct” and of endangering colleagues’ safety, charges she rejected as false. Attiah claimed the newspaper rushed to fire her without a conversation, violating journalistic standards. Her job was reportedly in jeopardy after clashes with opinion editor Adam O’Neal, who has offered buyouts to writers whose work does not fit the editorial mix.
Attiah noted she was the last remaining Black full-time opinion columnist at the paper and criticised the Post for no longer reflecting the diverse Washington DC region. She described her firing as part of a broader purge of Black voices from media and other sectors. The Washington Post declined to comment on personnel matters, citing its policies and standards.
In her Bluesky posts, Attiah lamented US acceptance of gun violence and referenced a 2023 remark by Kirk about Black women. She said her only direct reference to Kirk was his own words on record. The firing follows the Status media newsletter reporting in August that Attiah had refused a buyout offer. It also comes days after MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd was dismissed for describing Kirk as a “divisive” figure who pushed “hate speech”.
