Liberal Actor Michael Keaton Calls Charlie Kirk’s Death By Gunfire ‘Ironic’

Actor Michael Keaton spoke out about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a rare move in a Hollywood culture where most celebrities have remained silent.

The 74-year-old “Beetlejuice” actor made his opinions known at the Investigative Reporters and Editors’ 50th anniversary gala on Monday night, per Variety. 

“Before we start to get into the meat of this thing, 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,” Keaton said during his speech. “You gotta remember that.”

“Because in the end, shooting people will never answer anything, and the irony that he was killed with a gun is unbelievable,” he said.

“60 Minutes” journalist Scott Pelley also discussed Kirk at the same event, saying his assassination is an affront to First Amendment rights.

“Charlie Kirk was murdered to silence his speech, and three months earlier, former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were murdered to silence their speech,” Pelley said. “Many admired Kirk; many did not. His catchphrase was ‘Prove me wrong.’ To some, that phrase was controversial, even dismissive. But the core idea was: Bring the proof and let’s debate.”

“Whether you agreed with Kirk’s ideas or Hortman’s, their murders, their silencing, is blood on the First Amendment,” he added.

Keaton has supported Democratic candidates in the past, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden. Despite once saying that celebrities shouldn’t dabble too much in politics, he also came out ahead of the 2024 presidential election to slam Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

The actor is one of several leftists willing to discuss Kirk’s death. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis also mentioned it on Monday, telling Marc Maron during an appearance on his “WTF” podcast, “I’m going to bring something up with you just because it’s front of mind. Charlie Crist was killed two days ago.” 

“Kirk, not Crist,” Maron replied, prompting Curtis to say, “I just call him Crist, I think, because of Christ, because of his deep belief.”

The actress stated that she “disagreed” with Kirk on all issues but said, “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.”

She also expressed her discomfort with videos of Kirk’s death being shared so much on social media.