The Rock’s daughter has come under fire for appearing to justify the celebratory reactions to Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The political activist was fatally shot in the neck while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday (September 10).
Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from Utah, has been arrested and identified as the primary suspect in the attack.
Highlights
- The daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is facing backlash for a social media post that appeared to address Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
- Ava Raine, a WWE wrestler, shared a message about being remembered with “kind words.”
- Social media users called for the WWE to fire Raine over her “evil” post.
Ava Raine, the 24-year-old WWE wrestler and daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, seemingly addressed the crime by reposting a message from comedian Gianmarco Soresi on Instagram.
Ava Raine, The Rock's daughter and WWE wrestler, was slammed over a post following Charlie Kirk's assassination
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The message read, "If you want people to have kind words when you pass, you should say kind things when you’re alive."
While the post didn’t name Kirk directly, it was shared on the same day as his assassination.
Raine expressed her support for the message on X (formerly Twitter), writing, "And i’ll stand behind this. be kind, now more than ever.”
Many interpreted the post as Raine justifying the assassination or the celebratory reactions to it
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The post was widely interpreted as the young wrestler condoning the crime, sparking major backlash, particularly within the WWE community.
“Be kind or get assassinated?? I’m sure you’ve said something unkind I know your dad has what an idiotic statement,” one person wrote.
“You're an evil person,” typed someone else.
Others said Raine “should be fired for endorsing a political assassination.”
“It’s called debating, it actually used to be done in high schools with Debate Teams. Do better!” an additional user said.
Image credits: avawwe_ / Instagram
“‘Be kind or we will k*ll you’ hell of a take from @WWE employee,” another comment read.
The wrestler isn’t the only public figure facing backlash for seemingly celebrating the crime.
The Carolina Panthers fired Charlie Rock, a communications staffer, over what they called an “insensitive social media post.”
Similarly, MSNBC terminated political analyst Matthew Dowd over his “insensitive and unacceptable” on-air remarks following the fatal attack.
Suggesting the political activist was to blame for his assassination, Dowd said, “You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have, and then saying these awful words, and not expect awful actions to take place.”
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University
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After a nearly 33-hour manhunt, authorities identified Tyler Robinson as the alleged sniper. He has been charged with seven offenses, including aggravated m*rder.
Robinson is believed to have fired the shot from the roof of a building about 200 yards away from where Kirk was speaking at one of his "prove me wrong" tables.
He was arrested in Washington County, Utah, more than 250 miles from Utah Valley's campus in Orem.
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The suspect is registered as an unaffiliated voter and has not voted in each of the past two general elections, as per People.
He reportedly grew up in Washington, Utah, and is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox shared during a press conference that Robinson was identified after his father recognized him in photos released by authorities, as per ABC News.
The suspect reportedly "confessed” or “implied" that he had committed the crime, after which his father convinced him to turn himself in.
Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from Utah, has been identified as the primary suspect in the crime
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On Thursday (September 11), Robinson, his father and a close friend who previously worked in law enforcement reportedly drove to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, where the suspect surrendered to police.
Speaking to NBC, Cox said that the suspect was living with a roommate, whom the governor described as a romantic partner, and noted that they had been “very cooperative with authorities.”
Inscriptions on some of the bullet casings allegedly belonging to the 22-year-old suspect bore political messages, including, "O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao ciao," an Italian protest song that became an anthem of the resistance during World War II.
Image credits: mrserikakirk / Instagram
Before his arrest, Robinson sent several messages in a Discord group chat of about 20 people, using a joking tone, as per The New York Times.
When the FBI released surveillance footage of a person of interest on the Utah campus, one of Robinson’s acquaintances reportedly shared the images online and pointed out Robinson’s resemblance to the suspect, writing “wya” (“where you at?”) with a skull emoji.
Robinson quickly replied that his “doppelgänger” was trying to “get me in trouble,” the Times reported.
In another exchange, a Discord user suggested that the group could turn Robinson in to claim the FBI’s $100,000 reward. He responded, “Only if I get a cut.”
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“Whatever you do, don’t go to a mcdonalds anytime soon,” read the message, to which Robinson replied that he “better also get rid of this manifesto and exact copy rifle I have lying around.”
According to Cox, Robinson spoke about Kirk's visit to the university at a dinner with family members prior to the fatal attack.
"They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had," the governor shared. The suspected assassin allegedly said that "Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate."
Dwayne Johnson shares Raine with film producer Dany Garcia
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FBI Director Kash Patel announced that DNA found at the crime scene, specifically the towel wrapped around the rifle used in the crime, and on a screwdriver, links Robinson to the fatal attack.
FBI Co-Deputy Director Dan Bongino said on Monday (September 15) that Robinson’s digital footprint indicated that he had an "obsession" with the conservative influencer, and that the suspect appeared to have exhibited "multiple warning signs."
Robinson is currently being held without bail at Utah County Jail.
"I can't believe you're justifying an assassination," one netizen said of Raine's post
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