Featured Image Credit: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images/Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images
Topics: Sean Penn, Charlie Kirk, US News, Celebrity
Callum Jones
Topics: Sean Penn, Charlie Kirk, US News, Celebrity
Sean Penn issued a six-word response on the assassination of Charlie Kirk amid controversial comments made by other celebrities regarding the political commentator's death.
Kirk was assassinated on September 10 while he attended an event at Utah Valley University as part of his Turning Point USA comeback tour.
The 31-year-old activist was fatally shot in the neck, and the shooter responsible for assassinating him quickly fled the scene. Less than two days later, police reported that they had taken in a suspect and named Tyler Robinson, 22, who has since been charged.
Penn spoke to Vanity Fair 24 hours after Kirk's assassination, where he spoke about his latest project, One Battle After Another, the latest from Paul Anderson.
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The actor, who is known for expressing his political views, said 'I was not surprised at all' by the killing of Kirk.
"Like a lot of people, I’ve been worrying that this kind of horror was moving towards coming into fashion," he added.
"It’s disturbing enough that I would say I’m still processing it. And what its implications are."
Penn has certainly been outspoken in the past after describing Donald Trump's Covid-19 response in 2020 feeling like 'vulnerable communities were being gunned down from the White House'.
A few people have landed themselves in hot water for their comments following Kirk's death earlier this month, including Dwayne Johnson's daughter, Ava Raine, who was slammed for reposting a message that people believed to subtly hint at the activist.
And there is, of course, the whole Jimmy Kimmel fiasco, who has since been reinstated by ABC.
Michael Keaton's comments have caused controversy after the actor said there was an 'irony' in Kirk being gunned down, presumably due to his pro-armed stance and heated debates arguing against gun control.
In his full statement at the Investigative Reporters and Editors’ 50th anniversary gala earlier this month, Keaton appeared to pay respects to Kirk and the family he leaves behind while addressing gun violence.
"Before we start to get into the meat of this thing, I’m going to take a minute to say that, regardless of how I probably — not probably — have disagreed with many things he said, Charlie Kirk leaves behind two kids and a wife," the actor said.
"You gotta remember that. Because in the end, shooting people will never answer anything, and the irony that he was killed with a gun is unbelievable."