British comedienne Gina Yashere has sparked outrage after claiming American political activist Charlie Kirk was committing terrorism.
The actress, who has won her big break in America with a role in forthcoming television series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, claims that the free-speech campaigner ‘got what [he] had advocated for’ because he opposed gun control.
Kirk, 31, was married with two young children. He was shot dead while speaking at an event in Utah last week and was a prominent ally of President Donald Trump.
Yashere, 51, who was born in north London and rose to fame on panel shows such as Mock The Week, accused Kirk of preaching hate, claiming that he was ‘xenophobic, transphobic, homophobic, racist, misogynist and sexist’.
In an online rant, she declared: ‘That hate directly affected people, that isn’t political difference. If you are preaching something that is directly going to get me eradicated on the streets, that isn’t political difference, as far as I’m concerned that’s terrorism.’
She continued: ‘Charlie Kirk got what Charlie Kirk advocated for. He wanted more guns on the streets. He didn’t mind a few kids being shot to death in their classrooms or the odd Democrat being murdered in their home.’
‘I don’t believe in heaven and hell. But just in case there is, Charlie Kirk is going down there. And if he does, I hope he gets dropped off by a black pilot.’
This was a reference to a comment Kirk made last year, expressing his concerns about ‘positive discrimination’ in favour of non-white pilots: ‘If I see a black pilot, I’m going to be, like, boy, I hope he’s qualified.’
Yashere’s post sparked a significant backlash on social media, with people condemning the comedian for seemingly justifying Kirk’s death.
‘Maybe stick to fixing your own country,’ one wrote in the comments of her video, while another added: ‘You’re so wrong in many ways.’
‘Are you saying that it was ok for him to be killed??’ a third person asked.
Yashere has said she left Britain to escape being treated as ‘second best’. She said moving to the US gave her the freedom to embrace her identity as a lesbian: ‘I’d never come out publicly in England, because I didn’t want to give them something else to box me in.’
Yashere is not the only person to have sparked outrage with her reaction to the death of Charlie Kirk last week, including incoming Oxford Union president George Abaraonye.
Moments after the shooting in Utah, Mr Abaraonye reportedly wrote on WhatsApp: ‘Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f***ing go’ and on Instagram: ‘Charlie Kirk got shot loool’ (short for ‘laugh out loud’).
The Oxford Union, an ancient debating society which is independent from the university, has faced a furious backlash after the messages were revealed on Friday, although Mr Abaraonye later said the comments were ‘impulsive’ and ‘did not reflect’ his values.
The Union said it ‘unequivocally condemned’ the words and the university itself said it ‘deplored’ them. Complaints lodged to the Union have been ‘forwarded for disciplinary proceedings’, it said.
Katharine Birbalsingh, founder of Michaela Community School in Wembley, said Mr Abaraonye’s was a ‘product’ of schools promoting Left-wing ideologies.
Miss Birbalsingh, famous for her tough approach to discipline and standards, said the callous comments reflected today’s school system.
She said on X: ‘Wokeness teaches young people that leftist views on race, sexuality and religion are what morality is, and must be defended… by any means necessary.
‘Schools fail daily in teaching basic morality and universal humanity because we immerse children in woke ideology which divides us: Abaraonye is a product of this.’
She said the comments, which have since been deleted, show a lack of understanding for the ‘sanctity of life’.
Mr Abaraonye, 20, had ‘debased’ himself by the action and showed a ‘lack of respect’, she added.
‘I hang my head in shame as a teacher for my profession,’ she said. ‘Abaraonye has no moral compass and while he is responsible for himself, we too carry the blame.
‘Abaraonye is a consequence of the moral degeneracy we have been promoting for decades.’
Sir Paul McCartney joked that he was ‘corrupting’ his daughter, Mary, when he showcased his signature cocktail the ‘Maccarita’, a sweeter version of the Margarita, on her television cooking show, Mary McCartney Serves It Up!
Now, the photographer is planning to serve some drinks of her own. I can disclose that vegetarian cookbook author Mary, 56, has applied to trademark the name ‘Skyfire’ at the Intellectual Property Office for potential use for a range of drinks including wines, beers, cider, spirits and liqueurs.
Marchioness of Bath puts on sparking display…
King Charles requested no tiaras at his Coronation to make the 2022 ceremony more ‘meritocratic not aristocratic’.
Happily, some of our landed gentry are keeping the jewellery tradition alive.
The Marchioness of Bath dug out the three-peak Bath Tiara at the weekend for a party at her husband Ceawlin’s ancestral home, Longleat House in Wiltshire.
Known as Emma Weymouth when she competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2019, the marchioness, 39, wore the Victorian heirloom with her Vivienne Westwood gown and gloves.
Her party followed the annual Icons of the Sky event at Longleat with featured a Spitfire air display, parachutist aerobatics and a cavalcade of glowing hot-air balloons.
Mandy’s mutt delays US exit
Sacked as Our Man in Washington by Sir Keir Starmer last week, Peter Mandelson won’t, however, be packing his bags in a hurry.
I hear that Lord Mandelson will stay at the British Ambassador’s Residence for at least another week.
‘His dog needs medical treatment before Peter can return to Britain,’ a friend tells me.
Mandelson owns the collie, Jock, with his husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva. A Foreign Office spokesman plays down the claim.
Jock has starred in official social media posts where he was jokingly described as ‘the hardest working member of the Embassy’.
Promoting his book Eat Yourself Healthy, Jamie Oliver concedes his own waistline has long proved a challenge. ‘I had a little MOT a year and a half ago, and the doctor said: “You’ve got to sort out this stuff”,’ reveals the chef, 50.
‘I’m paid to eat. I do eat good stuff, but I eat too much of it. I’m greedy, I love it.’
Jamie’s weight has been the target of jibes in the past. Rival Marco Pierre White once unkindly referred to keen musician Jamie as the ‘fat chef with a drum kit’.
Keeping up with latest fashion can be a drag
Model Martha Sitwell once said she ‘stayed in an unhappy marriage to feed my habit’ of buying hats and dresses.
Clearly, it’s an addiction that the ex-wife of film-producing baronet Sir George Sitwell is struggling to stub out.
For Lady Sitwell, 45, daughter of late gastronome Justin de Blank, turned up at the Goodwood Revival event in West Sussex wearing a hat designed by Victoria Grant, featuring an array of cigarette ends.
‘I wanted something that honoured her specifically,’ the milliner tells me. ‘We all know she loves a box of Marlboro reds.’
Never meet your heroes is advice actor Guy Pearce might wish he’d heeded before approaching Sir John Hurt on the set of 2005’s The Proposition.
‘The film that has affected me more than any other is The Elephant Man,’ former Neighbours star Pearce says.
‘I told him what that film meant to me, and he said, ‘Oh, f*** off! I don’t want to talk about that film.’
Note to self: Don’t idolise anybody, because it doesn’t work. I just have a quiet chuckle to myself when I see me and John together on that.’
