‘The Office’ Actor Rainn Wilson Says His Liberal Hollywood Friends Were Celebrating The Assassination Of Charlie Kirk

Disgusting.

It should go without saying that shooting somebody because you disagree with them should never be acceptable in the United States of America. Silencing those with opposing views goes against everything we’re supposed to stand for as a country where we’re free to disagree with each other without fear of being persecuted.

That’s why it was so tragic when conservative media personality and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday during a stop on his The American Comeback tour at Utah Valley University by a 22-year old who disagreed with his political views and had accused Kirk of spreading “hatred.”

The popular political pundit was famous for traveling around to various college campuses, speaking to students on political topics. Given his outward right-wing views, his events often attracted many left-wing attendees anxious to debate or argue, and he was often the subject of protests and criticism from the left, though he encouraged thoughtful debate over violence and arguments.

Unfortunately, because of the times we live in, there were plenty of people who took to social media to celebrate the horrific assassination simply because they disagreed with his political views. Plenty of companies have let employees go, and had to release statements denouncing comments made by their employees, over the past few days.

But apparently the disgusting sentiment wasn’t one that was confined solely to social media: According to The Office star Rainn Wilson, some of his Hollywood friends were openly celebrating Kirk’s assassination too.

Wilson, who is most famous for portraying Dwight Schrute in the workplace comedy, spoke with fellow actor Mark Ruffalo about the assassination on this week’s episode of Wilson’s Soul Boom podcast. And Wilson, who’s a pretty outspoken liberal himself, admits that even he was shocked by the way some of his liberal friends were talking about Kirk’s murder:

“This is tearing the country apart in so many ways, and the country is being torn apart in so many different ways. While I didn’t agree with his ideas, shooting someone that we disagree with, even if they’re vociferous and loud and out there is so colossally wrong-headed. 

I spoke to a couple of, let’s say some liberal friends last night at an event, and they were like, ‘You won’t find me shedding any tears.’ And someone else was like, ‘Oh well.’ It was a little bit of a kind of a ‘good riddance’ thing, and it’s like, ‘Guys, no, we can not think or talk that way.’ That is not ok.”

Obviously it’s not just Wilson’s friends who were thinking or talking that way. Over the past week we’ve saw quite a few disgusting posts online, including from teachers, healthcare professionals and everybody in between celebrating Kirk’s death. Many people have lost their jobs, which has ignited a new debate over “cancel culture” and whether employers should be firing employees for posts on their own private social media.

But Wilson is right that it’s a dangerous path for our country when people are celebrating the death of somebody just because they dislike their politics.

The post ‘The Office’ Actor Rainn Wilson Says His Liberal Hollywood Friends Were Celebrating The Assassination Of Charlie Kirk first appeared on Whiskey Riff.