NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Veteran comedian Jamie Kennedy said he was “completely devastated” by the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk despite never having met him.
The “Malibu’s Most Wanted” and “Scream” star and host of the “Hate to Break It to Ya” podcast told Fox News Digital he was shocked not only by the killing of Kirk but by the reactions of people who celebrated his death.
“And then just to see [the killing] was just, you know, it was beyond shocking. So, that was one level. And then to see people’s reactions to it was just – it was just beyond sick. It was just beyond evil, sick, disgusting, and that really messed me up,” Kennedy said.
Like many Americans, the actor and stand-up comic said Kirk’s death Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University hit him “on the deepest of levels.”
“I’ve never been so sad and so mad about someone that I never met. And I was completely, I was just completely devastated by this,” he said to Fox News Digital.
Kennedy said he struggled to comprehend that the killing happened during a free speech event on a college campus.
“Why? Why did this happen? Like, where are we at? If you go onto a college campus, right, a place that’s supposed to be the epitome of open ideas, OK? And then you go there, and then you’re gunned down for a speech.”
He said seeing people celebrate his killing revealed to him the “newest low” in human behavior and made him realize how divided things really are in America.
“But then to see people celebrating it, that’s just a newest low. And I don’t remember seeing this in my 55 years. … So, it changed me because I don’t want to be around anybody like that. I don’t want to be near anybody like that. I want to be in my own area with people that share my ideas, my values, and let people that share those ideas and those values over there.”
Despite the shock and horror he felt over Kirk’s assassination, Kennedy pointed to the positive response, which included memorials and religious services held not only in the U.S. but around the world.
He called the positive response to Kirk’s death “the greatest advertisement for Jesus ever.”
He pointed to the power of Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, forgiving her husband’s murderer at his memorial in Arizona.
“When his wife forgave the murderer, that is literally, she is the living embodiment of Jesus’ message. … That was the ultimate forgiveness. I couldn’t believe that she did that,” he said. “It was the most beautiful act of forgiveness we’ve ever witnessed.”
While talking to Fox News Digital, Kennedy weighed in on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host Jimmy Kimmel being suspended by Disney and ABC. Kimmel was taken off-air for several days for suggesting that the murder suspect, 22-year-old Utah native Tyler Robinson, could be a supporter of President Donald Trump.
Where many Hollywood figures condemned Kimmel being pulled off the air, arguing it was censorship or a violation of free speech, Kennedy said it was fair because he made cracks at the horrific story that American viewers didn’t want to hear.
“It’s like, ‘Yo, something horrific happened,’” he said. “’There’s 1 trillion things you can joke about. Maybe just not joke about this right now.’ A comedian’s No. 1 thing to do is what? Read the room. The second one is to point out hypocrisies.”
Kennedy continued.
“No one wanted to hear any jokes about that. I still don’t. OK? It was just terrible to do, OK? Should a person be canceled for a joke? Obviously not. But here’s the thing: The hypocrisy looms large.”
Kennedy explained that while Kimmel got a slap on the wrist for making Kirk’s killer monologue fodder, entertainers like sitcom legend Roseanne Barr and “Star Wars” actress Gina Carano had their careers destroyed by social media posts.
“Roseanne was on the same network, a comedic icon and a female. So, you get your female, you get your comedic icon on the No. 1 show, 18 million viewers. Canceled for a tweet. She was banished — banished — to her macadamia nut farm in Hawaii, like gone. Never reconsidered.”
“Gina Carano in the same company — gone, thrown out for a tweet. So, no, the hypocrisy is ridiculous,” he added.
Kennedy did say he believed Kimmel’s apology for the line that got him suspended was sincere.
“I believe it was a very sincere apology, and I believe that he’s truly sorry. And I’ve done his show many times. He’s always been a very good guy to me. He’s always been a nice guy.”
The post Comedy star admits he was ‘completely devastated’ by Kirk murder, calls outrage over Kimmel hypocritical appeared first on Fox News.
