Michael Keaton Says the ‘Irony’ That Charlie Kirk Was ‘Killed With a Gun Is Unbelievable’: ‘Shooting People Will Never Answer Anything’

According To The variety Michael Keaton paid respects to the late Charlie Kirk at Investigative Reporters and Editors’ 50th anniversary gala on Monday night, while also speaking on the gun violence that took his life. “Before we start to get into the meat of this thing, I’m going to take a minute to say that, regardless of how I probably — not probably — have disagreed with many things he said, Charlie Kirk leaves behind two kids and a wife,” he said as he opened his speech. “You gotta remember that.” “Because in the end, shooting people will never answer anything, and the irony that he was killed with a gun is unbelievable,” he continued. Keaton wasn’t the only speaker at the IRE gala to speak on Kirk’s killing. “60 Minutes” journalist Scott Pelley touched on the topic early in his opening remarks as the event’s host. “Charlie Kirk was murdered to silence his speech, and three months earlier, former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were murdered to silence their speech,” he said. “Many admired Kirk; many did not,” Pelley went on. “His catchphrase was ‘Prove me wrong.’ To some, that phrase was controversial — even dismissive. But the core idea was: Bring the proof and let’s debate.” “Whether you agreed with Kirk’s ideas or Hortman’s, their murders, their silencing is blood on the First Amendment,” he concluded. Kirk died on Sept. 10 after he was shot during an appearance at a college campus in Utah. He was 31. Shortly after news broke of Kirk’s shooting, Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce that the young conservative activist had died. He wrote, “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”