Brian Kilmeade, longtime co-host of Fox & Friends, is facing a wave of condemnation after suggesting that mentally ill homeless people should be “k*lled.”
The incendiary comment was made during a live broadcast discussing the m*rder of Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who was fatally attacked on a Charlotte, North Carolina train by Decarlos Brown Jr., a violent repeat offender with at least 14 prior offenses.
Highlights
- Fox host Brian Kilmeade suggested homeless people with mental illness should be forced to take a lethal injection.
- The comment followed a discussion of Iryna Zarutska’s stabbing by repeat offender Decarlos Brown Jr.
- Kilmeade has since apologized, but critics say it was scripted, flooding the internet with calls for his firing.
Brown, who was released from prison in 2020, was diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to his family, but refused to take medication. As a result, he was left homeless and untreated.
During a segment, after co-host Lawrence Jones argued that voluntary mental health treatment wasn’t working for individuals living on the streets, Kilmeade abruptly suggested:
“Or, uh, involuntary lethal injection. Or something. Just k*ll ’em.”
“Or, uh, involuntary lethal injection. Or something. Just k*ll ’em.”
Fox host Brian Kilmeade was forced to issue an apology after suggesting that mentally ill people should be forced to take a lethal injection
Image credits: X/Brian Kilmeade
The remark was met with stunned silence in the studio and was initially ignored. But the internet never rests, and a clip of the moment began circulating online over the weekend, where it amassed more than 20 million views in a matter of days.
Lawmakers, commentators, and mental health advocates swiftly criticized Kilmeade’s comments as dangerous and dehumanizing.
Image credits: CCTV
“Nobody deserves to be m*rdered by the government for mental illness or poverty. These Fox hosts are calling for mass m*rder. It is sick,” representative Don Beyer wrote.
California Governor Gavin Newsom joined in, referencing a biblical proverb:
“Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.”
The apology was seen by many to be insufficient at best, and completely inauthentic at worst
Image credits: X/eoghan
On Sunday, Kilmeade addressed the controversy on air, stating:
“I wrongly said they should get lethal injections. I apologize for that extremely callous remark,” the host said.
“I’m obviously aware that not all mentally ill homeless people act as the perpetrator did in North Carolina, and that so many homeless people deserve our empathy and compassion.”
Image credits: KnewOnEarth
But many saw the statement as nothing more than a scripted attempt at damage control.
“Suggesting that homeless or mentally ill people should be euthanized is not ‘callous.’ It’s something much worse,” Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a CNN medical analyst, replied.
“After suggesting we ‘just k*ll’ the homeless, host Brian Kilmeade was forced to read a weak, scripted apology. This isn’t accountability. It’s a PR stunt to cover up evil,” added Adam Mockler, a left-leaning influencer affiliated with the Meidas Group.
“He should be fired.”
Beyond Kilmeade’s remarks, the case has brought attention to the systemic issues that led to Irina’s stabbing
Image credits: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
While Kilmeade’s comments caused widespread outrage, they also drew attention to the deeper failures in the system that allowed Zarutska’s stabbing to happen.
Decarlos Brown Jr. had been arrested at least 14 times for offenses ranging from assault and robbery, to larceny.
His mother and sister told ABC News that he had shown signs of severe mental illness since at least 2020, and had often spoken of “man-made material” being placed in his brain, controlling his thoughts and movements.
Despite numerous red flags, Brown was never committed to long-term care. In fact, he was repeatedly released by Mecklenburg County judges, with no follow-up support, and no accountability.
On the morning of August 22, 2025, he boarded the Lynx Blue Line train. Four minutes later, without warning or provocation, he pulled out a knife and stabbed Iryna Zarutska three times.
She bled out in front of passengers.
Netizens have questioned the way mainstream media organizations handled the story
Image credits: Getty/Noam Galai
The incident also called mainstream media outlets' editorial choices into question, with many online accusing them of downplaying the story.
Axios, in particular, came under fire for publishing a headline that described the viral video as being elevated “by MAGA influencers,” implying the concern was more about politics than public safety.
The backlash was swift. Critics pointed to rising crime statistics in cities like Charlotte, and questioned how the attack of a refugee on video was not a national story until social media made it unavoidable.
The case has ignited debate about crime, media bias, mental illness, accountability, and sensible racial matters.
Reports that the attacker said, “I got the white girl,” have fueled discussion over whether the stabbing was racially motivated or a consequence of Brown’s schizophrenia diagnosis.
Calls for Kilmeade to be fired quickly spread across social media
