Jamie Lee Curtis Sobs On-Air Over Charlie Kirk — The Heartbreaking Reason

Jamie Lee Curtis fought back tears as she spoke about the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, killed while addressing a campus audience at Utah Valley University on September 10. Her emotional interview comes as authorities report a 22-year-old suspect has been arrested after a manhunt.

Jamie Lee Curtis got unexpectedly emotional talking about Charlie Kirk on Marc Maron’s podcast, and the whole segment turned into a bigger conversation about how we consume violent images. It’s thoughtful, a little messy, and honestly, more nuanced than you usually get in moments like this.

The shooting and the immediate fallout

Kirk was shot and killed on September 10, 2025, while speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University. Police launched a manhunt and later arrested a 22-year-old suspect, Tyler Robinson. The killing sparked a wave of public outrage, with politicians and commentators across the spectrum condemning what happened.

What Curtis said — and the small, strange slip

Two days after the shooting, Curtis taped a conversation with Marc Maron for his WTF podcast. Early on, she told him she wanted to bring something up because it was front of mind. She then talked about Kirk — and briefly mixed up his last name as 'Crist,' which she chalked up to thinking about his deep religious identity. It’s an odd little slip, but it fits the moment: she was visibly shaken, trying to square her feelings about a person she strongly disagreed with.

Through tears, Curtis said she found many of his ideas abhorrent, but still saw him as a husband, a father, and a person of faith. She hoped that, in his final moments, he felt connected to that faith. As reported by Rolling Stone, she framed it in plain terms:

'Even though 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.'

9/11, violent videos, and why she refuses to watch the clip

The interview happened the day after 9/11, which Curtis brought up as she pivoted to the way we’re constantly flooded with disturbing imagery. She noted that people were again watching footage of the towers falling — and now there’s also video of the Kirk shooting circulating. She wants no part of it. Her concern is less about one clip and more about the cumulative effect: we keep consuming these images, and we don’t really understand what that does to us over time.

She worried that the constant exposure makes people numb, even inhuman, and said the psychological impact of that saturation isn’t well understood. It’s the kind of big-picture media question you don’t always hear in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy, and it landed because she was clearly reacting in real time.

Quick timeline

• Sept 10, 2025: Charlie Kirk is fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University.
• Afterward: Authorities launch a manhunt and arrest 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.
• Sept 11, 2025: Anniversary of 9/11, which comes up in Curtis’s comments about violent imagery.
• Two days after the shooting: Curtis tapes the WTF interview with Marc Maron and addresses Kirk’s death, per Rolling Stone.

Whether you agree with her or not, Curtis managed to hold two ideas at once: sharp disagreement with Kirk’s views, and empathy for the person and his family. In a media moment built for hot takes and viral clips, that’s a rare lane to choose.