After posting a heartfelt tribute to Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist who was killed, model and influencer Josie Canseco has come under fire. The post quickly made her followers angry.
“One of the Smartest People”
Last week, Canseco, 28, daughter of baseball star Jose Canseco and former model Jessica Canseco, posted a tribute to her 1.2 million Instagram followers. She wrote, “Rest in paradise to one of the smartest people of our time,” next to a picture of Kirk holding one of his kids. Praying for his family.
In a follow-up story, she said, “No matter what you believe, you can never be okay with someone being shot because you don’t agree with their views and political beliefs.” No one, anywhere, at any time should be able to celebrate, accept, or allow what we are doing.
Kirk, 31, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on September 10 at a campus event at Utah Valley University. His wife, Erika, and their two young children will miss him.
She Gets Angry at Social Media
Even though Canseco tried to be understanding, people on the internet were very angry with what she said. Many people called her “delusional” and said she was glorifying Kirk.
Someone on Reddit said, “Rocks for brains.” Someone else said, “It’s completely insane to call him smart or a hero.” He was just a conservative who used hateful language.
People made fun of her intelligence in front of her: “She’s not very smart, is she?” Another person said, “This is deada* gross.”
One follower even said that Kirk tributes were enough to make them stop following influencers altogether: “I’m getting such a good view of who to immediately unfollow.” I just unfollowed a YouTube channel because of his tribute to Charlie Kirk.
A Wider Debate
Canseco isn’t the only famous person who has been criticized for what they said about Kirk’s death. Erin Napier, a star of HGTV’s show about her and her husband Ben fixing up homes in small towns in Mississippi, also got into trouble.
“Only the demonized celebrate death,” Napier wrote in a short tribute post. She then quickly followed up after getting a lot of angry messages in her DMs. Some of the things people have said in my DMs make me sick. If you could be one of those comments, please unfollow me right away. “Lord, have mercy on us all.”
The Inquiry
In the meantime, the investigation keeps turning up new information. FBI Director Kash Patel says that the suspect in Kirk’s murder left a note saying what he planned to do. Patel said, “I have the chance to kill Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it.” He also said that forensic evidence proved that the note had been destroyed.
His father turned him in, and the 22-year-old suspect was arrested last week. He is charged with aggravated murder and obstruction of justice, among other things.
For Canseco, the argument shows how divisive Kirk’s legacy is. It also serves as a reminder that even tributes to the dead activist can cause a lot of trouble.