Stephen King Apologizes for Spreading False details About Charlie Kirk‘s Death
WASHINGTON – Author Stephen King issued a public apology Friday for sharing inaccurate information on X (formerly Twitter) regarding the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. King initially posted, than deleted, a claim suggesting Kirk had been killed, later attributing his error to a lack of fact-checking.
The apology followed a flurry of criticism after King retweeted a post about Kirk’s alleged death, responding to it by calling the author of the original post a “horrible, evil, twisted liar.” Kirk was not killed; the initial report was false. King subsequently acknowledged his mistake, stating, “The horrible, evil, twisted liar apologizes.This is what I get for reading something on Twitter (without) fact-checking. Won’t happen again.”
Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, responded to King’s initial post and later praised the author for apologizing and deleting the inaccurate information. “All of us – on both sides of the aisle – should treat each other with respect & decency, even if we disagree on politics,” Cruz wrote on X. “Charlie did that every day, and I admired him for it.”
King offered multiple apologies on X, including one responding to biologist Colin Wright, who warned that such “extreme rhetoric” could incite violence.
The incident occurred amid heightened political tensions following the release of a video on Sept. 10 in which former President Donald Trump blamed “radical left” rhetoric for Kirk’s supposed slaying, claiming they were “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today.” TV host Jimmy Kimmel subsequently condemned Trump’s response, arguing it exacerbated division rather than fostering unity.
