Kristin Chenoweth Breaks Silence on Charlie Kirk Controversy: "It Nearly Broke Me"
Broadway luminary Kristin Chenoweth is candidly addressing the storm of criticism that followed her public tribute to Charlie Kirk, who passed away in September.
The 57-year-old star, known for her vibrant stage presence, confided to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday, November 3, that the period “was tough on me.” She chose to offer a poignant, yet firm, boundary: “But I’m not going to answer any questions about it because I dealt with it. It nearly broke me, and that’s all I’m going to say. You probably know my heart, so you probably know,” hinting at a deeply personal struggle and an expectation of understanding from her audience.
Kirk, a prominent figure, met an untimely end at 31 on September 10, tragically shot during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University.
Chenoweth’s initial response to Kirk’s passing appeared in the comments section of a March Instagram post from Turning Point USA, the conservative commentator’s non-profit organization.
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Her comment, laced with visible emotion, read: “I&m. So. Upset. Didn’t always agree but appreciated some perspectives. What a heartbreak. His young family,” a clear nod to Charlie’s widow, Erika Kirk, and their two children. She concluded with a spiritual note, “I know where he is now. Heaven. But still.”
The comment ignited a wave of criticism for Chenoweth, particularly from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, given Kirk’s well-documented anti-LGBTQ+ positions. She subsequently addressed the controversy during an interview with NY1’s Frank DiLella on September 18.
In that conversation, she articulated, “I saw what happened online with my own eyes. And I had a human moment of reflection.” She continued, expressing deep regret, “I came to understand that my comment hurt some folks and that hurt me so badly. I would never. 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,” emphasizing her unwavering commitment to both her faith and the LGBTQ+ community.
Chenoweth was not alone in the spotlight regarding reactions to Kirk’s death. Amanda Seyfried, for instance, appeared to take a critical stance against the right-wing political activist on September 16, sharing a post declaring, “You can’t invite violence to the dinner table and be shocked when it starts eating.”
The 39-year-old actress subsequently added a direct comment on a post concerning Kirk, stating unequivocally, “He was hateful.”
The acclaimed Mean Girls star later sought to clarify her position via Instagram on September 17.
She penned, “I don’t want to add fuel to a fire. I just want to be able to give clarity to something so irresponsibly (but understandably) taken out of context.” Seyfried urged for a more nuanced perspective: “Spirited discourse — isn’t that what we should be having? We’re forgetting the nuance of humanity. I can get angry about misogyny and racist rhetoric, and ALSO very much agree that Charlie Kirk’s murder was absolutely disturbing in every way imaginable.”
She further asserted, “No one should have to experience this level of violence. This country is grieving too many senseless and violent deaths and shootings. Can we agree on that at least?”
In a similar vein, Jamie Lee Curtis found herself needing to clarify remarks about Kirk after becoming visibly emotional discussing his faith during an appearance on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast recently.
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The 66-year-old Curtis stated on the podcast, following her acknowledgment of disagreeing with Kirk on “almost every point I ever heard him say,” that “I believe he was a man of faith, and I hope in that moment when he died that he felt connected to his faith.”
Curtis elaborated, “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.”
In an October 28 interview with Variety, Curtis subsequently clarified that her comments had been “mistranslated.”
She clarified, “Like I was talking about him in a very positive way, which I wasn’t; I was simply talking about his faith in God.”
