Vivian Jenna Wilson, the 21-year-old daughter of billionaire Elon Musk, pushed back sharply at questions tying transgender people to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk while appearing backstage at New York Fashion Week, saying she was too exhausted to discuss the matter and rejecting assertions that trans people are predisposed to violence.
Thirty seconds into an interview, Wilson became tearful and described feeling "homesick" while thousands of miles from Los Angeles, where she said she has a community of close friends. She was preparing for her fourth and final runway show of the week in hair and makeup and said she had barely slept during her debut season as a runway model, during which she has walked for designers including Prabal Gurung, Dauphinette and Chris Habana.
Wilson, who came out publicly as a transgender woman in 2020 and has become a vocal advocate for trans rights, said she receives "creepy" and menacing messages online but dismissed the idea that she or other trans people are inherently dangerous. When asked about the killing of Charlie Kirk and the debate over whether trans identities are linked to mass violence, she said, "[It] is something I am too fing tired to talk about coherently." She later told the interviewer, "Trans people are not mass murderers... It's fing crazy. I am a runway model — I am not going to shoot anyone with a gun, like, give me a f***ing break."
The assassination of Kirk, a prominent conservative and outspoken critic of transgender activism, has intensified a national debate over free speech, gun violence and the treatment of transgender people in media and policy. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed that the alleged killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was in a romantic relationship with his roommate, Lance Twiggs, who is transgender. Wilson, who posts frequently about trans rights to a large social media following, said she did not understand how isolated details were being used to paint an entire community as violent.
Wilson also criticized reported discussions within federal law enforcement about measures that would single out transgender people in gun policy. After a separate mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school earlier this year, in which reports said a gunman wrote in a journal that she was "tired of being trans," the Justice Department under the Trump administration was reported to have considered gun-control measures aimed specifically at transgender people. Wilson told the interviewer such proposals were "discriminatory" and risked "normaliz[ing] further anti-trans legislation."
On the runway, Wilson drew raucous applause and cheers, walking for Chris Habana in a show titled "POP" that was sponsored by an adult website. She also appeared in an Alexis Bittar presentation titled "Miss USA 1991," which featured an all-trans cast of models wearing sashes representing states that critics have accused of rolling back transgender rights. Backstage, admirers approached her with expressions of support as she changed out of high heels following a performance she described as constrictive and physically demanding.
Wilson said the spotlight of both fashion and activism carries baggage. "Everyone's gotten death threats. It's 2025, so, like, whatever," she said, describing the online hostility she encounters. She sought to emphasize immediate priorities: rest, friends and ordinary pastimes. "The first thing I'm going to do is sleep, go hang out with my friends, play [the League of Legends videogame], and then we're going to get back to it," she said.
Her emergence on high-fashion runways this week represents a blending of modeling and advocacy for Wilson, who until recently was best known publicly as the estranged child of the Tesla and SpaceX founder. She has repeatedly framed her public profile around transgender rights and criticized conservative media narratives that she says vilify trans people. In the interview she cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from the actions of individuals, saying such associations will have "real world consequences" for people already facing discrimination.
As the nation continues to grapple with the fallout from Kirk's killing and questions about how public discourse shapes policy and safety, Wilson's comments underscore the tensions facing transgender public figures who navigate both cultural platforms and political debate. She signaled that, for now, she intends to regroup and return to the runway and her advocacy work after recovering from a grueling fashion week schedule.