Actress Kristin Chenoweth addressed the backlash she received from followers after expressing shock and sympathy over the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The 57-year-old star, known for playing the original Glinda in the Broadway musical “Wicked,” discussed what happened and attempted to cater to her fan base while promoting her new Broadway show, “The Queen of Versailles.”
“I’m. So. Upset.,” Chenoweth shared on Instagram after Kirk’s assassination. “Didn’t always agree but appreciated some perspectives. What a heartbreak. His young family. I know where he is now. Heaven. But still.”
NY1 reporter Frank DiLella said during a newly published interview on Thursday that Chenoweth’s post was met with “mixed reactions.”
“Mixed? You’re being kind,” the Tony Award-winning star replied, insinuating that the backlash had been substantial.
DiLella mentioned how the actress had a “big LGBTQ+ fan base” and asked what she hoped to “convey” by posting about Kirk, who he described as “controversial” for having views “openly opposed same-sex marriage [and] trans rights.”
“I saw what happened online with my own eyes and I had a human moment of reflection right then,” Chenoweth said, referencing the widely circulated video footage of Kirk being fatally shot at Utah Valley University.
“I came to understand that my comment hurt some folks and that hurt me so badly. I would never,” she continued.
“It’s no secret that I’m a Christian, that I’m a person of faith. It’s also no secret that I am an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and for some, that doesn’t go together. But for me, it always has and it always will.”
Most left-wing celebrities stayed silent on the Kirk killing, but some managed to overcome their partisan views to display moments of humanity.
Leftist actress Jamie Lee Curtis also got dragged for saying during an appearance on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, “I believe he was a man of faith, and I hope in that moment when he died that he felt connected to his faith,” as she became emotional.
“Even though I find what his ideas were abhorrent to me, I still believe he’s a father and a husband and a man of faith, and I hope whatever ‘connection to God’ means, that he felt it,” Curtis said.
Michael Keaton also commented on Kirk’s assassination, saying, “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. You gotta remember that.”