Kristin Chenoweth says the uproar over her comments following conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s death “nearly broke” her, describing the fallout as one of the most painful moments of her career.
“It was tough on me,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview released Monday.
“But I’m not going to answer any questions about it because I dealt with it. It nearly broke me, and that’s all I’m going to say. You probably know my heart, so you probably know.”
Kirk, 31, died on September 10 after being fatally shot while on stage at Utah Valley University during his American Comeback Tour.
Kristin Chenoweth says she is upset by Charlie Kirk’s death, adding that she “knows he is now in Heaven.” pic.twitter.com/PO63NGX1Jo
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 11, 2025
His death stunned audiences across the country and sparked strong reactions from both supporters and critics.
Shortly after news of the tragedy broke, Chenoweth commented on an Instagram post from Turning Point USA, Kirk’s nonprofit.
“I’m. So. Upset. Didn’t always agree but appreciated some perspectives,” she wrote.
“What a heartbreak. His young family.” She added, “I know where he is now. Heaven. But still.”
Chenoweth also posted to her Instagram Stories, calling the shooting a “sad, senseless and disgusting act,” and asked followers to “pray for the Kirk family.”
The remarks drew sharp criticism from some of her longtime fans, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community, many of whom objected to her sympathetic tone toward Kirk due to his opposition to same-sex marriage and transgender rights.
Days later, Chenoweth appeared visibly emotional in an interview with NY1’s Frank DiLella, where she addressed the public backlash.
When DiLella noted that reactions to her post had been “mixed,” Chenoweth replied, “Mixed? You’re being kind.”
During the interview, DiLella mentioned her strong LGBTQ+ fan base and asked what message she intended to convey by mourning Kirk.
Chenoweth admitted that her “emotions got involved,” explaining she had seen footage of the shooting and reacted instinctively.
“I saw what happened online with my own eyes and I had a human moment of reflection right then,” she said.
“I came to understand that my comment hurt some folks and that hurt me so badly. I would never.”
She continued, “It’s no secret that I’m a Christian, that I’m a person of faith. It’s also no secret that I am an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and for some, that doesn’t go together. But for me, it always has and it always will.”
Chenoweth’s situation mirrored that of fellow actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who also faced criticism for her reaction to Kirk’s death.
Curtis had initially spoken about the incident during an appearance on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast on September 15, five days after the shooting.
“I disagreed with him on almost every point I ever heard him say, but I believe he was a man of faith, and I hope in that moment when he died, that he felt connected with his faith,” Curtis said.
Jamie Lee Curtis got emotional over Charlie Kirk's tragic passing during an interview with Marc Maron
🔉 WTF with Marc Maron pic.twitter.com/cZOdCJL3nG
— TMZ (@TMZ) September 16, 2025
“Even though I find what he, 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.”
Curtis, known for her outspoken criticism of President Donald Trump, later told Variety that her podcast comments had been “mistranslated.”
She clarified that she had not intended to wish Kirk well, saying she was only discussing his faith and the way people process tragedy.
“What I was saying as I wished him well — like I was talking about him in a very positive way, which I wasn’t; I was simply talking about his faith in God,” she said.
The Oscar-winning actress explained that her point was more complex than it appeared.
“In the binary world today, you cannot hold two ideas at the same time: I cannot be Jewish and totally believe in Israel’s right to exist and at the same time reject the destruction of Gaza,” she continued.
“You can’t say that, because you get vilified for having a mind that says, ‘I can hold both those thoughts. I can be contradictory in that way.’”
Curtis also reflected on the impact of violence and media exposure, linking Kirk’s killing to her concerns about desensitization.
“Today, we as a society are bombarded with imagery,” she said. “We don’t know what the long-term effects are of seeing those Towers come down over and over again, or watching [Kirk’s] execution over and over.”
“We are numb to them, but they are in there. We don’t know enough psychologically about what that does.”
Following Curtis’s clarification, former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly criticized her for backpedaling.
“We gave her credit at the time because, even though she has a trans kid, and recognized Charlie didn’t — he was where I am on the trans issues — she recognized a man had been killed,” Kelly said on her podcast.
She accused Curtis of reversing course after facing online backlash. “That is completely dishonest. She walked this back because she clearly got blowback over it,” Kelly said.
“[She] actively endangers those of us who are on the right and who are out here speaking to crowds and keep this conversation going.”
When asked by Variety whether she feels the need to censor herself as a public figure, Curtis insisted, “I don’t have to be careful. I can’t not be who I am in the moment I am.”
Kelly, however, dismissed that claim, saying, “If she really were this fearless person who would say anything — the consequences be damned — she wouldn’t feel such an urge to make sure people knew she was ‘mistranslated’ into people thinking she wished him well.”