TMZ issued an apology after employees were heard laughing and applauding on a livestream shortly before the outlet announced the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
In a video posted by TMZ, co-founder Harvey Levin and host Charles Latibeaudiere addressed the incident, saying staff in a back room were watching a separate live feed of a car chase and that their reactions were not directed at the news of Kirk’s shooting. "We acknowledge that it was horrible timing," Latibeaudiere said. Levin added that anyone who found Kirk’s death funny "would not work here." The outlet also published a write-up acknowledging that watching a car chase during the coverage "was tone deaf."
The apology came after viewers on social media expressed shock and anger at background laughter that played as Levin and others were discussing the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder’s assassination. "They laughed and applauded the cold-blooded murder of a husband and father on a public broadcast," one user wrote on X. TMZ said in subsequent posts on X that the reactions were tied to the car-chase footage and that there was no ill intent.
Kirk was shot while taking questions from the crowd at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday. According to law enforcement statements, a single bullet struck him in the neck as he was answering a question about gun violence. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that "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."
FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday night that there was no one in custody at that time. Patel said investigators had briefly detained a suspect earlier in the day and released that person after interrogation. "The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency," he wrote on X.
Authorities have described the incident as a political assassination and said they believe the suspect acted alone. Officials said the fatal shot was fired from the top of the Losee Center, about 200 feet away from where Kirk was speaking. A 71-year-old man identified in police filings as George Zinn was arrested immediately after the shooting but was booked on obstruction of justice; investigators said Zinn was not the shooter.
The shooting sparked panic in the crowd as people fled the scene. Media organizations, including TMZ, increased live coverage of the developing story, and TMZ said it had been livestreaming throughout the day. Levin, in the apology video, reiterated that those who appeared to be applauding the car chase "would not work here" if they had been celebrating Kirk's death and said the outlet regretted the "horrible timing" of the background reaction.
The Daily Mail and other outlets have reported on the livestream audio and TMZ's statements; TMZ said it would clarify the circumstances internally and to viewers. The FBI and local authorities said the investigation into the shooting was ongoing and pledged to release more information as it becomes available.