Jamie Lee Curtis backtracks on emotional tribute to Charlie Kirk after liberal backlash

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jamie Lee Curtis is walking back her emotional comments on Charlie Kirk’s death, telling Variety that her tearful tribute was “mistranslated” after sparking backlash from her liberal fanbase.

In her new Variety cover story for the “Power of Women” issue published on Tuesday, October 28, the 66-year-old Oscar-winning actress addressed her earlier remarks on the late Turning Point USA co-founder. Last month, Curtis shocked many when she broke down in tears on Marc Maron’s 'WTF' podcast, saying she “hoped Charlie felt connected to his faith” in his final moments.

Jamie Lee Curtis says her comments on Charlie Kirk were ‘mistranslated’

The 'Halloween' star, who has long advocated for LGBTQ+ rights and is the mother of a transgender daughter, told the outlet that her words were misconstrued.

“An excerpt of it [my comments] mistranslated 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,” Curtis said. “And so it was a mistranslation, which is a pun, but not.”

Curtis was both praised and criticized for her unexpected empathy toward the conservative commentator, who was killed on September 10 while addressing students at Utah Valley University during his American Comeback Tour.

Before his death, Kirk had made several inflammatory remarks about transgender individuals, once saying, “The transgender thing happening in America now is a throbbing middle finger to God.” Given that, Curtis’ emotional reaction struck many as surprising.

Jamie Lee Curtis reflects on backlash and holding ‘two ideas’ at once

In her Variety interview, Jamie Lee Curtis reflected on the polarized reactions to her remarks.

“In the binary world today, you cannot hold two ideas at the same time,” she said. “I cannot be Jewish and totally believe in Israel’s right to exist and at the same time reject the destruction of Gaza. 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 went on to push back on the notion that public figures must tread lightly, saying, “I don’t have to be careful. If I was careful, I wouldn’t have told you any of what I just told you. I can’t not be who I am in the moment I am.” 

Jamie Lee Curtis says she worries about violent imagery online

During her conversation with Marc Maron, the actress also revealed she was disturbed by reports that footage of Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting had circulated online. 

“I know there is video of his death. I know people who’ve seen it,” she said. “We are inured to them and we are numb to them, but they are in there. We don’t know enough psychologically about what that does.”

Curtis, who executive-produced Paul Greengrass’ Apple TV+ drama 'The Lost Bus', said she never wants to see such footage herself. “I don’t ever want to see this video of this man being shot,” she said.