Jamie Lee Curtis has clarified her earlier remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, saying her comments were “mistranslated” and taken out of context.
Curtis first spoke about Kirk’s death two days after he was shot on September 10, sparking both praise and criticism online. The Halloween star’s comments drew particular attention because one of her daughters, Ruby, is transgender, and Kirk was known for his outspoken opposition to transgender rights.
At the time, Curtis broke down in tears while addressing the incident during Marc Maron's WTF podcast. “I disagreed with him on almost every point I ever heard him say,” she said then, as per The Independent: “but I believe he was a man of faith, and I hope in that moment when he died that he felt connected to his faith.”
She continued: “Even though 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.”
Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
While some praised Curtis for expressing empathy despite political and ideological differences, others accused her of showing undue sympathy toward Kirk.
Curtis Says Comments Were “Mistranslated”
In a new interview with Variety, Curtis addressed the “relentless” backlash and said her original words had been misrepresented.
“An excerpt of it mistranslated what I was saying as I wished him well, like I was talking about him in a very positive way, which I wasn’t,” she explained. “I was simply talking about his faith in God. So it was a mistranslation, which is a pun, but not.”
Curtis went on to reflect more broadly on the difficulty of expressing nuanced opinions in today’s polarized climate.
“In the binary world today, you cannot hold two ideas at the same time,” she said. “I cannot be Jewish and totally believe in Israel’s right to exist, and at the same time reject the destruction of Gaza. You can’t say that, because you get vilified for having a mind that says, ‘I can hold both those thoughts.’”
Broader Reactions to Kirk’s Assassination
Kirk’s killing prompted a wave of public reactions from across the political and cultural spectrum, some of which quickly became controversial.
Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10. Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images.
Author Stephen King drew sharp criticism after claiming on social media that Kirk had “advocated stoning gays to death,” a statement that supporters of the conservative commentator called false. “You are a horrible, evil, twisted liar,” wrote U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R–Texas) in response, via Newsweek. “No, he did not. You’re dishonest and full of hate.”
Meanwhile, actor Chris Pratt, a devout Christian, urged the public to “pray for peace” and for Kirk’s family in the aftermath of the shooting.