Fact Check: Did Charlie Kirk say gay people should be stoned to death?

WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s death, a viral rumor is flooding social media, claiming the Turning Point USA founder once said that gay people should be stoned to death.

Kirk, 31, was fatally shot in the neck on September 10, 2025, while speaking about gang violence at a Utah college event. But where did this explosive claim originate? And did Kirk ever actually make such a statement? Here’s what we found.

What is the rumor about Charlie Kirk?

Social media users accused conservative activist Charlie Kirk of calling for gay people to be stoned to death.

A viral video on X, shared by a user named HotSpotHotSpot, showed Kirk responding to YouTube personality Ms Rachel, who had quoted the Bible to express her support for Pride Month. In his response, Kirk cited a different Bible verse about stoning to highlight what he saw as her selective use of scripture.

The rumor gained traction when author Stephen King amplified it in a now-deleted post, claiming Kirk had "advocated stoning gays." The controversy sparked a wave of reader questions, including: “Did Charlie Kirk believe gay people should be stoned and that it’s ‘God’s perfect law’?”

Some posts backing the claim featured a clip from Kirk’s podcast. In the segment, Kirk quoted a Bible passage that called for stoning and used it to challenge Ms Rachel’s reference to scripture. He said:

“[…] is in Leviticus 18, is that thou shall lay with another man shall be stoned to death, just saying. So, Ms. Rachel, you quote Leviticus 19, love your neighbor as yourself. The chapter before affirms God's perfect law when it comes to sexual matters.”

False: Charlie Kirk did not endorse stoning gay people to death

As a video clip of Charlie Kirk went viral alongside claims that he endorsed stoning gay people to death, Snopes labeled the claim false, stating that the conservative commentator did not directly call for such punishment.

A comprehensive review of Kirk’s public statements, podcast episodes, and social media posts on LGBTQ+ issues revealed no direct advocacy for stoning. Instead, Kirk quoted Bible verses as part of a broader argument about how people selectively interpret scripture.

In particular, the clip in question shows Kirk referencing Leviticus 20, not to promote its enforcement, but to contrast Ms Rachel’s biblical interpretation. Ms Rachel, a popular children’s entertainer whose real name is Rachel Anne Accurso, had earlier quoted Leviticus 19 to justify her Christian support for Pride Month.

On June 3, 2024, she posted an Instagram Reel saying, “My faith is really important to me, and it's also one reason why I love every neighbor… In Matthew 22, a religious teacher asked Jesus, 'What's the most important commandment?' And Jesus says, 'To love God and to love your neighbor as yourself.' All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments… It doesn’t say love every neighbor ‘except.’”

What was Charlie Kirk’s response to Ms Rachel’s Bible verse?

Five days later, during the June 8, 2024, episode of 'The Charlie Kirk Show' (around the 1:00:30 mark), Kirk responded to her message. When one of his co-hosts asked what he thought about Ms Rachel quoting scripture, Kirk replied, “She's not totally wrong. […] The first part is Deuteronomy 6:3-5. The second part is Leviticus 19. So you love God, so you must love his law. How do you love somebody? You love them by telling them the truth, not by confirming or affirming their sin."

He added, "And it says, by the way, Ms Rachel, might want to crack open that Bible of yours, in a lesser reference — part of the same part of scripture is in Leviticus 18, is that thou shall lay with another man shall be stoned to death. Just saying. So, Ms Rachel, you quote Leviticus 19, love your neighbor as yourself. The chapter before affirms God's perfect law when it comes to sexual matters.”

Kirk’s tone was clearly provocative, but he was not advocating for stoning gay people. He used the scripture reference to argue that Ms Rachel had cherry-picked verses to support a modern, inclusive interpretation of Christianity. Nonetheless, Kirk did refer to the passage as part of “God’s perfect law,” which some interpreted as an endorsement of its content.

After criticism and fact-checks emerged, King deleted the tweet and issued a public apology, “I apologize for saying Charlie Kirk advocated stoning gays. What he actually demonstrated was how some people cherry-pick Biblical passages."