Elon Musk delivered a cutting one-word reply to Stephen King after the horror author sparked outrage with a false claim about Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, the conservative founder of Turning Point USA, was slain while speaking at Utah Valley University earlier this week.
The attack stunned political observers and triggered emotional responses from across the spectrum.
Highlights
- Elon Musk fired off a sharp one-word reply to Stephen King after the author posted a controversial claim about slain conservative Charlie Kirk.
- The horror author falsely accused Kirk of advocating violence against LGBTQ+ people, then issued an apology.
- The exchange fueled heated debates as tributes and controversies surrounded Kirk’s shocking as*assination.
Stephen King made a controversial claim about Kirk on X
Image credits: Olivia Wong/Getty Images
In the aftermath of Kirk’s slaying, Stephen King took to social media to express his frustration at a post from Fox News’ Jesse Watters, which described Kirk as “not a controversial or polarizing figure.”
King criticized the slain conservative, claiming that Kirk had “advocated stoning gays to d*ath. Just sayin.’”
The remark immediately went viral, sparking strong reactions among netizens, many of whom accused the author of posting misinformation, according to Unilad.
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who also owns X, delivered one of the sharpest reactions to King’s post. In response to author, Musk posted a single word: “Liar.”
In later posts, Musk reiterated his comment towards King. “Why would Stephen King post something so blatantly false?” Musk wrote in another post.
Dave Rubin, a married, gay conservative, took King’s words more personally, stating that the author was worse than some of the villains in his best-selling horror books.
Image credits: Charlie Kirk/YouTube
“Hey Stephen King, you are more monstrous than any of the characters you ever came up with. Charlie was never anything but kind to me and my husband.
“We broke bread many times, and he never treated us with anything other than respect. He even came to our house not too long ago and plot twist, didn’t throw rocks at us,” Rubin wrote.
Image credits: StephenKing
Others pointed out that King’s comment could prove costly, as the estate of Charlie Kirk could sue the author for defamation.
Amid backlash, Stephen King issued several apologies admitting to his mistake
Image credits: elonmusk
As it became evident that Kirk never “advocated for stoning gays to d*ath,” King deleted his post and issued a public apology.
“I apologize for saying Charlie Kirk advocated stoning gays. What he actually demonstrated was how some people cherry-pick Biblical passages,” King wrote.
The best-selling author reiterated his apology several times, writing, “I have apologized,” “I have apologized. Charlie Kirk never advocated stoning gays to death,” and “I was wrong, and I apologize. I have deleted the post” in later quote reposts.
Image credits: Gage Skidmore/Flickr
In a moment of humility, King admitted that his gaffe was because he did not fact-check his claim before he posted it on X.
“The horrible, evil, twisted liar apologizes. This is what I get for reading something on Twitter w/o fact-checking. Won't happen again,” King wrote.
King’s apology received polarizing reactions on social media, with some netizens stating that the author should be forgiven because he acknowledged his mistake, and others arguing that he must face consequences.
“He was wrong. He’s acknowledged it over and over. That’s a good thing, we should accept the apology,” one user on X wrote.
“They should still sue him for millions, even after his public apology. You’re not allowed to incite great violence and then say ‘sorry’ and walk away scot-free,” wrote another.
Kirk’s sniper reportedly had strong political resentment against the conservative activist
Image credits: StephenKing
The tragedy at Utah Valley University quickly became one of the year’s most talked-about events.
The fact that Kirk was slain while speaking about g*n violence added a cruel irony to the attack.
His accused sniper, Tyler Robinson, was arrested just recently, and investigators have been working to piece together his motives.
Image credits: 10 News
During a press conference, Utah Governor Spencer Cox shared some information that was related by Robinson’s family.
The official noted that the suspect had “become more political in recent years.”
Just days before slaying Kirk, Robinson reportedly attended a family dinner where he mentioned that Kirk was “full of hate and spreading hate.”
Image credits: KSL News Utah
“In the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU.
"They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that (Kirk) had,” Cox stated.
Netizens shared their thoughts on Stephen King’s gaffe and apologies, as well as Elon Musk’s sharp comment
