Stephen King Apologizes for False Claims About Charlie Kirk After Fatal Shooting

Stephen King issued an apology after facing widespread backlash for a tweet falsely claiming that the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk advocated stoning gay people to death. King initially made the comment in response to a post praising Kirk as a patriot following his assassination at Utah Valley University, but later deleted the tweet and admitted he had not fact-checked the claim. He clarified that Kirk's actual stance involved highlighting how some people cherry-pick Biblical passages, rather than advocating violence. Prominent figures, including Senator Ted Cruz and Fox News host Jesse Watters, strongly condemned King's original statement, with Cruz calling it a "heinously false accusation." The incident sparked a heated online debate, with some users demanding legal action against King despite his apology. King's reversal came amid a broader context of contentious reactions from public figures following Kirk's death, reflecting ongoing political and cultural divisions.