Fox News host Brian Kilmeade apologized Sunday for saying that people experiencing homelessness and mental illness should be executed.
His comments drew widespread condemnation and calls for his firing.
Kilmeade made the remark on Wednesday during Fox & Friends, while discussing the August killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Highlights
- Fox News host Brian Kilmeade apologized for saying mentally ill homeless people should be executed during a Fox & Friends segment.
- Kilmeade called his statement 'extremely callous' and expressed empathy for homeless people, clarifying that not all are violent.
- Kilmeade remained on air despite calls for firing, highlighting a media contrast with MSNBC firing analyst Matthew Dowd.
Brian Kilmeade apologized after calling for homeless people with mental illnesses to be executed
Image credits: Noam Galai/Getty Images
Prosecutors say the man accused of her stabbing, Decarlos Brown Jr., had a history of schizophrenia and 14 prior criminal arrests.
During the Fox & Friends episode, co-host Lawrence Jones said on air that unhoused people with mental illness should either accept publicly funded programs or be jailed.
“Involuntary lethal injection or something,” Kilmeade responded to Jones. “Just kill ’em.”
The exchange attracted little attention when it aired, but a clip went viral Saturday after critics shared it on social media.
Fox News critic Aaron Rupar shared the clip, titled “Brian Kilmeade endorses euthanizing homeless people,” garnering more than 20 million views on X by Sunday afternoon.
California Governor Gavin Newsom responded online with a biblical verse: “Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.”
Christine Quinn, CEO of the New York-based shelters and transition houses, WIN, said the comments were “completely devoid of all humanity” and invited Kilmeade to volunteer in one of her facilities.
Quinn said in a statement that such rhetoric “only serves to divide and inflame.”
Kilmeade addressed the controversy on Sunday morning on Fox & Friends Weekend, appearing alongside Jones.
Image credits: Mecklenburg Sheriff
“We were discussing the murder of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte and how to stop these kinds of attacks by homeless, mentally ill assailants, including institutionalizing or jailing such people so they cannot attack again,” Kilmeade said.
“I wrongly said they should get lethal injections. I apologize for that extremely callous remark,” he continued.
“I am obviously aware that not all mentally ill, homeless people act as the perpetrator did in North Carolina, and that so many homeless people deserve our empathy and compassion.”
Brian Kilmeade called his statement "extremely callous"
Fox News also highlighted the apology on its website, saying Kilmeade “admits fault.”
Kilmeade’s situation unfolded as other media figures faced professional consequences for remarks connected to the political climate following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was fatally shot at an event in Utah on Wednesday. His death prompted a wave of scrutiny of public statements, with several commentators losing jobs or facing discipline.
MSNBC fired political analyst Matthew Dowd after he suggested Kirk’s far-right rhetoric may have contributed to the violence.
“And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in,” Dowd had said on air on MSNBC.
“You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in.”
MSNBC and Dowd each separately issued apologies.
Dowd later said his comments were misconstrued and blamed what he called a “right wing media mob.” In contrast, Kilmeade remained on the air despite his statement about homeless people.
Author Shannon Watts wrote on X: “Kilmeade is advocating for extrajudicial killings on FOX, yet Matthew Dowd was fired by MSNBC [for] pointing out Charlie Kirk’s dangerous rhetoric. This moral asymmetry in the media and online is destroying democracy.”
Research shows that people experiencing homelessness are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators.