âť“WHAT HAPPENED: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s former communications director, Alastair Campbell, apologized for falsely claiming Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk supported stoning homosexuals to death.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Alastair Campbell, Charlie Kirk, Andrew Doyle, and Stephen King.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The controversy unfolded following Kirk’s assassination, with comments and retractions made on social media and podcasts.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Apologies for this. I had seen a clip on social media which did not have the full context, and had seen others making the same claim.” – Alastair Campbell
🎯IMPACT: The incident highlights the need for caution when sharing social media content.
Alastair Campbell, the infamous former communications director to Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, best known for his role in paving the way for the Iraq War, has issued a public apology after making false claims about Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Speaking on the podcast The Rest Is Politics, which he co-hosts with former Conservative Party government minister Rory Stewart, Campbell alleged that Kirk had advocated for the stoning of homosexuals.
Campbell said on the podcast, “The guy’s died and it’s tragi … but it’s important we don’t lose sight of some of the views he expressed because they were horrific. I remember one clip I saw of him saying that, a literal reading of the Bible, gay people should be stoned to death.” This false statement triggered swift backlash, with political satirist Andrew Doyle, sharing a clip of the exchange that refuted Campbell’s claim.
“No… Charlie Kirk categorically did NOT support the stoning to death of gay people. Will you retract this reckless and ignorant smear?” Doyle wrote on X.
The video Campbell referenced was later shown to be part of a broader discussion on selective biblical interpretation, not a call to violence. Campbell later apologized publicly on X, saying, “Apologies for this. I had seen a clip on social media which did not have the full context, and had seen others making the same claim. The full exchange shows it was a debate about Biblical interpretation, not a call for the stoning of gay people.”
Other public figures, including author Stephen King, also spread the inaccurate claim and subsequently retracted it.
Campbell’s co-host, Rory Stewart, a former Conservative Party leadership contender, has previously faced media attention for all but guaranteeing that Kamala Harris would win the U.S. presidency, and for clashing with Vice President J.D. Vance over the Christian teaching on the hierarchy of love.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the problem with Rory and people like him is that he has an IQ of 110 and thinks he has an IQ of 130,” Vance said.
Image by University of Salford.
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