Jimmy Kimmel Responds to Charlie Kirk’s Assassination: “Can We Just Agree It’s Horrible to Shoot Another Human Being?”

Comedian and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has spoken out following the shocking death of Charlie Kirk, the conservative political activist and outspoken Trump supporter, who was fatally shot during a college event in Utah at the age of 31.

Taking to Instagram, Kimmel urged the public to refrain from political blame games and instead focus on the tragedy itself.

“Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” Kimmel wrote. “On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”

Kirk was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, a right-wing nonprofit organization that actively supported Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election. He was shot in the neck during a debate with college students at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Despite being rushed to the hospital by security, Kirk did not survive. His death was officially announced by Trump on Truth Social.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump posted. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me… Charlie, we love you!”

While Kimmel and Kirk stood on opposite ends of the political spectrum, Kimmel’s response avoided partisanship, instead focusing on the broader issue of gun violence in America — a recurring theme in his advocacy both on and off screen.

The relationship between Kimmel and Trump has long been contentious. Kimmel regularly targets Trump in his monologues on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, often drawing the former president’s ire in return. Earlier this year, Trump predicted Kimmel’s late-night show would be canceled, following CBS’s cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

However, Kimmel has remained defiant. Speaking on The Sarah Silverman Podcast in August, he revealed that he had obtained Italian citizenship — partly as a reaction to Trump’s return to the presidency.

“I did get Italian citizenship,” Kimmel said. “What’s going on [with Trump] is as bad as you thought it was gonna be. It’s so much worse… I feel like it’s probably even worse than he would like it to be.”

While political divisions remain sharp in the U.S., Kimmel’s message in the wake of Kirk’s death struck a more human tone — reminding audiences that behind the politics are real people, real families, and real loss.