Fox News Host โApologizes for Suggesting Lethal โInjections for Homeless Individuals with Mental Illness
Brian Kilmeade, โขco-hostโค of “Fox & Friends,” issued an apology Sunday for commentsโ made the previousโ week suggesting involuntary lethal injections as a solution for mentally illโข homeless individuals.โข The remarks stemmed from a discussion on the August 22 stabbingโ death of 23-year-old Ukrainianโ refugeeโค Iryna zarutska on a light rail train โฃin Charlotte, North Carolina.
The conversation on “Foxโ & Friends” last Wednesday centered on โzarutska’s suspected killer,โฃ DeCarlos Brown Jr.,โข who is homeless, has a criminal record, andโข has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia according to his family. โฃSecurity footage of โคthe attack circulated widely online, sparkingโ a national โdebate โฃregarding public safety and criminal sentencing.
During the segment, co-host Laurence Jones noted the significant โคfinancial investmentโ in programs designed toโ assist the homeless and mentally ill, but pointed out that many individualsโข refuse availableโค help. “A lot of them โฃdon’tโ wantโข to take the programs,” Jones stated. “A lot of them don’t want to get the โhelp โคthat isโ necessary. You can’t give them the choice. Either you take โฃtheโ resources that we’re going to give you, or you decide that you’ve got toโค be locked up in jail.”
Kilmeadeโ then added, “Or involuntary lethal injection โorโค something – justโข kill ’em.”
A clip of Kilmeade’s statement gained significant traction on the platform Xโข (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.
addressing the controversyโ on Sunday’sโข broadcast, kilmeade said, “I apologize for that extremely callous remark. I am obviously aware that not all mentally ill, homeless people act as the perpetrator did in โขNorth Carolina andโ that so โขmany homeless people deserve our โempathy and compassion.”
The comments drew criticism online,with โคsome commentators noting parallels to theโฃ Nazi euthanasia program authorized by Adolf Hitler in 1939,whichโฃ resulted in the deaths of over 250,000 peopleโข with mentalโฃ illness and disabilities.
As of now, Kilmeade โฃhas not faced the โฃsame consequences as political analyst Matthew โDowd, who was terminated byโข MSNBC after commenting on the shooting death of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk.Dowd had stated that “hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, whichโ then lead โคto hateful actions,” and described kirk as a divisive figure. Following an immediate backlash, Rebecca Kutler, president ofโฃ MSNBC, apologized and ended her relationship with Dowd.โ Dowd himself later โคapologized,โ stating, “I in no way intended to blame Kirk forโฃ this horrendous attack.” Comcast, MSNBC’s parent company, issued aโฃ company-wide memo on Friday acknowledging Dowd’s firingโ andโ emphasizing the need for betterment.