WaPo columnist says she was fired after sharing fake quote from Charlie Kirk

Columnist Karen Attiah complained on Monday that The Washington Post fired her for falsely quoting Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk following his assassination.

The Post fired Attiah for falsely quoting Kirk stating that “black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously” on BlueSky, a left-wing social media website. In a Substack post, Attiah accused the Post of engaging in “hasty overreach” over their swift firing of her and instantly made her termination about race.

“And yet, the Post accused my measured Bluesky posts of being ‘unacceptable’, ‘gross misconduct’ and of endangering the physical safety of colleagues — charges without evidence, which I reject completely as false. They rushed to fire me without even a conversation. This was not only a hasty overreach, but a violation of the very standards of journalistic fairness and rigor the Post claims to uphold,” Attiah wrote. “Since then, my words on absolution for white male violence have proven prescient. The suspect in Kirk’s killing is indeed a young white man, and already, lawmakers are urging us to pray for him. The media is painting the 22 year-old as a good, all-American suburban kid. The cycle I mentioned has once again come to pass.”

The fired columnist falsely accused Kirk of having “attacked Black women” and of saying that black people were better off living under Jim Crow. Kirk never made any of these claims.

“The Washington Post fired me” over Charlie Kirk posts, writes @KarenAttiah.

“I have been canceled by Columbia. I have now been canceled by the Washington Post.” https://t.co/3kLfcwq99h

— David Weigel (@daveweigel) September 15, 2025

The Post told Attiah that her BlueSky posts were “unacceptable,” “gross misconduct” and endangered the safety of colleagues.

On the day of Kirk’s assassination, Attiah wrote that the U.S. allowed “white children to be massacred by gun violence” because “White America” does not want to make any changes relating to guns. She shamelessly wrote in the Substack post that the reaction to Kirk’s death is another example of society “giving compassion for white men who commit and espouse political violence.”

“I pointed to the familiar pattern of America shrugging off gun deaths, and giving compassion for white men who commit and espouse political violence. This cycle has been documented for years. Nothing I said was new or false or disparaging— it is descriptive, and supported by data,” Attiah said.

Attiah then alleged that the media and lawmakers are trying to paint Kirk as “a good, all-American suburban kid” while she and other black people get shut down. She accused both the Post and Columbia University of canceling her for “doing [her] job.”

“Washington D.C. no longer has a paper that reflects the people it serves. What happened to me is part of a broader purge of Black voices from academia, business, government, and media — a historical pattern as dangerous as it is shameful — and tragic,” Attiah claimed.

Several other firings have occurred across the U.S. as a result of many people’s insensitive and celebratory statements responding to Kirk’s death. Middle Tennessee State University fired its assistant dean Laura Sosh-Lightsy for saying she had “zero sympathy” for Kirk’s assassination, while the Carolina Panthers parted ways with communications coordinator Charlie Rock over a social media post that read, “Why are yall sad? Your man said it was worth it.’”

University of Michigan professor and academic advisor Lydia Fettig called Kirk’s assassination “prudent” and “rational.” Another one of its professors, Charles H.F. Davis, stated on X that the assassination was a “solution” to “violent rhetoric spewed by empowered people.”

Latest posts by Nicole Silverio (see all)

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.