Stephen King has issued an apology after wrongly claiming conservative activist Charlie Kirk “advocated stoning gays.” The author made the original statement in a social media post on X following Kirk’s death at an event in Utah on September 10.
“I apologise for saying Charlie Kirk advocated stoning gays. What he actually demonstrated was how some people cherry-pick Biblical passages,” King wrote in a follow-up post.
The initial claim referred to remarks Kirk made in 2024 on his podcast. Kirk had criticised children’s YouTube creator Ms. Rachel for citing “love thy neighbour” from Leviticus as support for gay inclusion.
He replied: “By the way, Ms. Rachel, you might want to crack open that Bible of yours. In a lesser reference, part of the same part of scripture, in Leviticus 18, is that ‘thou shall lay with another man shall be stoned to death.’ Just saying.”
King’s now-deleted post drew criticism from several conservatives, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who called him a “horrible, evil, twisted liar.”
King responded directly: “The horrible, evil, twisted liar apologises. This is what I get for reading something on Twitter [without] fact-checking. Won’t happen again.”
The author remains an active presence on X and has long been a critic of former President Donald Trump. Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA, was a prominent figure within the conservative movement, focusing on mobilising young voters.
The apology coincided with developments in the investigation into Kirk’s death. President Trump confirmed on Fox News that a suspect had been arrested.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox later identified the suspect as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from Utah, who allegedly told a family friend about his involvement before being taken into custody.
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