Type keyword(s) to search

News

Ted Cruz slams Stephen King as "evil, twisted liar" for claiming Charlie Kirk "advocated stoning gays to death"

Stephen King's insensitive and accusatory tweet about Charlie Kirk following his death has earned a strong backlash from netizens, with Ted Cruz being one of them.
posted by Akanksha Mishra
Friday 9/12/2025 at 9:43AM EDT
  • LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 20: Charlie Kirk speaks onstage during Politicon 2018 at Los Angeles Convention Center on October 20, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Politicon)
    LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 20: Charlie Kirk speaks onstage during Politicon 2018 at Los Angeles Convention Center on October 20, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Politicon)

    The news of Charlie Kirk's death surfaced on the internet two days ago, and has since led to a number of high-profile figures reacting to it. While most of the reactions are filled with grief over the loss of a young life filled with promise, not all of them have been as kind.

    On Friday, September 12, Stephen King took to X, retweeting a tribute to Charlie Kirk and captioning it:

    "He advocated stoning gays to death. Just sayin'."

    King's tweet has since gone viral on the social media platform, with more than 28 million views, 39K comments, and 22K retweets. Many netizens called him out for twisting the truth and defaming a dead man without any basis. 

    One of the voices opposing Stephen King's tweet was of politician Ted Cruz's. The Senator called him a "horrible, evil, twisted liar" for his comment against Kirk. He also went on to talk about his support for the Democratic Party, claiming that its crimes against homosexuals was much greater. 

    On Wednesday, September 10, Charlie Kirk was at the Utah Valley University (UVU) as part of his American Comeback Tour. During a Q&A session at the campus, the MAGA influencer became the target of a bullet which hit his neck. 

    Kirk hit the ground immediately after the shot. As the campus authorities gathered around to help him and call for the ambulance, the students attending the session started scrambling around. 

    He was soon taken to a hospital for treatment, but couldn't survive the gunshot wound. On Wednesday evening, Donald Trump took to his Truth Social handle to share the tragic news of Charlie Kirk's passing with the world, calling him "legendary" in his tribute. 

    The President also ordered all flags across the country to be hoisted at half-mast in mourning the 31-year-old's death.

    ​Joe Rogan's reaction to Charlie Kirk's death is going viral on social media

    ​Stephen King's reaction to Charlie Kirk's death isn't the only one that's going viral on social media. So is Joe Rogan's. Rogan learned of Kirk being shot while he was on air, having a discussion with Charlie Sheen on his podcast, and was visibly shocked by it. 

    Holding his head with both his hands, Joe shared with his audience that Charlie had gotten shot, while Sheen called it "f**king awful".

    While Rogan wasn't sure if Kirk had died yet, after collecting his thoughts, he said:

    "There's going to be a lot of people celebrating this. It's so scary. It's so dangerous too, to celebrate or to in any way encourage this kind of behavior from human beings... He's not a violent guy. He was talking to people on college campuses."

    Charlie Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika Frantzve Kirk, and their two children.

    ​

    ​

    TOPICS: Charlie Kirk, Ted Cruz, Charlie Kirk's death


More Charlie Kirk on Primetimer: