In the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, the Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth was among thousands of people who left a comment on an Instagram post from the young conservative commentator, to put their thoughts and feelings about his death into words.
“I’m. So. Upset. Didn’t always agree but appreciated some perspectives,” Ms. Chenoweth wrote, according to screenshots circulating widely on social media. “What a heartbreak. His young family. I know where he is now. Heaven. But still,” she added, including a red broken heart emoji.
Some of Ms. Chenoweth’s fans were surprised to see this response from the Tony Award winner, who had urged her followers to vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and has a large fan base among the L.G.B.T.Q. community for her starring roles in musicals like “Wicked” and television shows like “Pushing Daisies.”
In the comments section of Ms. Chenoweth’s own Instagram, social media users criticized the actor for praising Mr. Kirk, who had a history of making disparaging remarks about gay, Black and Jewish people, among others. Some Chenoweth fans threatened to boycott her upcoming Broadway musical, “The Queen of Versailles,” while others made dark jokes referring to the song “No One Mourns the Wicked,” the opening number Ms. Chenoweth sang as Glinda on Broadway.
In our internet age, online spaces are where many people go to process tense national moments. They are also where others go to pick apart one another’s reactions, assessing them for moral and political correctness. That dynamic has been amplified by the death of Mr. Kirk, who was beloved by many on the right for his socially conservative views and his speaking and debating gifts, and reviled by many on the left for comments like calling the Civil Rights Act of 1964 a “mistake” and encouraging supporters to report professors they suspected of embracing “gender ideology.”
Is expressing sadness or sympathy for Mr. Kirk and his family the same as a de facto endorsement of his views? On social media, this is one debate that has raged on in the days after his death.
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The post What Does Posting About Charlie Kirk Really Say About You? appeared first on New York Times.
