The ex-governor calls it unbelievable that someone lost their life for having different views.
The killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk has led to many reactions in politics and Hollywood. On Monday, Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke about it and shared his sadness at an event at the University of Southern California (USC).
According to Variety, the actor, former California governor, and founder of the Schwarzenegger Institute at USC was asked about Kirk’s recent death while talking with the university’s interim president, Beong-Soo Kim.
He called it “impossible to believe” and “unacceptable.”
“I felt very, very upset that someone lost their life because they had a different opinion. It’s just inconceivable,” he said.
The star of Terminator focused on Kirk’s family side as the leader of Turning Point USA.
“He was a human being, a life gone. And he was a great father, a great husband. I thought about his kids. Now they’ll only read about him, instead of him reading them bedtime stories,” he noted.
Kirk, 31, was killed on September 10 while taking part in a debate with students at Utah Valley University. Police have charged Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old now in FBI custody, with aggravated homicide. The prosecutor wants the death penalty.
He Blamed Political Division
At the Democracy Day event, Schwarzenegger went further and linked the crime to the growing split in the U.S. He pointed to social media for making things worse, as TMZ reported.
“We have to see that the cause of all this is social media companies that divide us, traditional media companies that divide us, political parties: Democrats that divide us, Republicans that divide us. They attack us from many sides, and we must be careful not to get too close to the edge. Because when you fall off that edge, there’s no democracy down there,” he warned.
The former Republican governor also asked young people to help bring people together. “Each of you can make a difference. You can show leadership. This is about leadership,” he told USC students.
Reactions from Other Stars
Kirk’s death affected not just politics but Hollywood too, where stars shared their thoughts, even if they didn’t agree with his ideas.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis got emotional and cried while talking about it on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast.
“I didn’t agree with him on almost any point I heard him say, but I think he was a man of faith, and I hope that in that moment when he died, he felt that connection to his faith, even though his ideas were abhorrent to me,” she said.
Curtis also thought about the mental effects of seeing too much violence, like in past attacks and Kirk’s case. Graphic stuff spreads fast on social media.
“We don’t know enough, psychologically, about what that creates. Is that why we feel this lack of humanity? Because we’re flooded with these images,” she asked. She’s the star of Freaky Friday.
Jimmy Kimmel, a late-night TV host, called for less fighting: “Instead of pointing with anger, can we for one day agree that it’s horrible and monstrous to shoot another human being?” he said on September 10 on his social media.
In a more positive note, Chris Martin of Coldplay mentioned the tragedy at a London concert, in a part about sending love to different causes.
“You can send love to Charlie Kirk’s family, you can send it to anyone’s family. You can send it to people you don’t agree with, but you send them love anyway,” the British singer said.