Brian Kilmeade, a longtime host on Fox News, apologized on Sunday for comments he made on a broadcast last week in which he proposed killing mentally ill homeless people by “involuntary lethal injection.”
“Just kill ’em,” he said.
Heavy criticism followed as his comments were shared widely online, and Mr. Kilmeade apologized during a weekend episode of “Fox & Friends.”
“I wrongfully said they should get lethal injections,” he said. “I apologize for that extremely callous remark.”
Mr. Kilmeade made the comments Wednesday on “Fox & Friends” during a discussion about the deadly stabbing in Charlotte, N.C., of a 23-year-old woman who was a refugee from Ukraine. The authorities arrested Decarlos Brown Jr. and charged him with first degree murder in the case, describing him as mentally ill and homeless.
The stabbing happened in August, but became an accelerant for conservative arguments about crime, race and justice systems in American cities after the authorities released security footage this month that showed the killing.
Mr. Kilmeade was discussing the murder on air with his co-hosts Lawrence Jones and Ainsley Earhardt when Mr. Jones said that homeless people who did not accept help in the form of resources funded by public money should “be locked up in jail.”
“Or involuntary lethal injection, or something,” Mr. Kilmeade said. “Just kill ’em.”
Mr. Jones and Ms. Earhardt did not challenge his statement or elaborate on it. Mr. Jones answered, “Yeah,” before Ms. Earhardt asked Mr. Kilmeade, “Why did it have to get to this point?” to further their conversation.
Widespread online outrage at Mr. Kilmeade’s comments did not emerge until a few days later, when clips of the comments spread quickly on social media. Some called for his dismissal.
Mr. Kilmeade apologized during “Fox & Friends” on Sunday and also posted a video of the apology on social media. “I am obviously aware that not all mentally ill homeless people act as the perpetrator did in North Carolina,” he said. “And that so many homeless people deserve our empathy and compassion.”
A spokesperson for Fox News could not immediately be reached on Monday.
Mr. Kilmeade has been a host of “Fox & Friends” for nearly three decades. He is one of the original hosts of the show, which premiered in 1998, and he joined the network in 1997, according to his LinkedIn account.
“Fox & Friends” was once known as a light warm-up show before Fox News’s slate of political and news programming. Since President Trump took office for his first term in 2017, though, it has become one of the most powerful television programs in the country because of the president’s frequent engagement with the show.
“Fox & Friends” is one of the country’s most-watched cable news morning shows. In July, the network said, the show averaged 1.3 million viewers.
Mr. Kilmeade also hosts a daily radio program, “The Brian Kilmeade Show.”
Claire Moses is a Times reporter in London, focused on coverage of breaking and trending news.
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