Former BBC chef faces backlash after sharing inflammatory posts about murdered conservative activist
Former Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain has ignited fierce controversy after sharing incendiary social media posts branding murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk a “bigot” who “thrived on spreading hate,” less than 24 hours after his assassination at a Utah university.
Kirk, 31, the co-founder and president of right-wing student group Turning Point USA, was fatally shot in the neck whilst addressing approximately 3,000 students at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. The prominent Trump ally was pronounced dead at a local hospital hours after sustaining a single gunshot wound during what Utah Governor Spencer Cox called a “political assassination.”
Whilst tributes poured in from political figures across the spectrum, including President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Hussain took a markedly different approach, using the tragedy to highlight what she perceives as selective empathy regarding deaths in Gaza.
Controversial Instagram Posts
The former BBC regular, who fronted shows including Nadiya’s British Food Adventure and Nadiya’s Everyday Baking, reposted two inflammatory statements to her Instagram stories that have sparked widespread condemnation.
In the first post, Hussain endorsed a message that read: “Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political ‘activist’ was shot in the neck today and died. The internet screams, ‘graphic’, ‘unwatchable’, ‘unimaginable terror’. For two years, Gaza has lived through horrors that no words can hold. Children carrying other children in bloodied backpacks. Bodies torn apart in buildings, shreds hanging. Brains on the floor. Burns too horrific to imagine.
The post continued: “A man who was a vocal Islamophobe and bigot who glorified violence. He celebrated shootings, cheered on aggression, and thrived on spreading hate. His life was a platform for division and fear. But here’s the question we can’t ignore: why is it that when white men die, the world mourns, and when 20,000 children do, silence fills the streets?”
Hussain followed this with another shared post stating: “If the last two years have shown us anything, it is that empathy cannot be forced and who it is extended to can be chosen. To those who have spent the last two years silent but are now shouting that people are unempathetic to Charlie Kirk, it’s not a lack of empathy, but simply selective empathy. Surely you are familiar with it, no?”
Public Backlash
The posts, shared to Hussain’s Instagram stories where followers cannot directly comment, triggered immediate backlash from users on the original posts.
“A guy that spoke and debated for the sake of preventing violence has been murdered and instead of paying any ounce of respect you try to tie him being assassinated to deaths in gaza. Embarrassing,” one critic wrote.
Another added: “I’m sorry but I think this is in really poor taste. I’m a heavy supporter of Palestine. I post daily. I don’t think anyone deserves to die. No matter their opinions, who they are or what they stand for.”
A third commented: “This is your response to a guy getting murdered on a college campus? Get a grip. You don’t have to agree with him, but you don’t murder somebody for sharing their opinions and engaging in debate. Gross.”
Life After the BBC
Hussain’s controversial posts come months after her departure from the BBC, where she had worked for a decade. The 40-year-old chef has attributed her exit to “no longer fitting that space anymore” and has embraced her newfound freedom from BBC impartiality rules.
Speaking on a podcast in July, Hussain declared: “I think I’m going to be the truest, most honest version of myself, entirely unfiltered, with no management, nobody to tell me what I can do, can’t do, can say, can’t say. And only then will I know what space the industry has for me.”
She added: “I’m not comfortable in boxes anyway. I prefer a glass ceiling to smash through, thank you very much. But I’m not holding out for the industry to accept me because that’s what I’ve done my whole life.”
Since leaving the corporation, Hussain has been particularly vocal about the war in Gaza and various political issues, using her platform of over one million Instagram followers to share her unfiltered opinions.
Stark Contrast to Celebrity Reactions
Hussain’s response stood in stark contrast to other celebrity reactions to Kirk’s death. Actor Chris Pratt posted: “Praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country. We need God’s grace. God help us.”
Television presenter Piers Morgan condemned the shooting as “an appalling assault on free speech and democracy,” whilst late-night host Jimmy Kimmel urged people to stop “angry finger-pointing” and agree “it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human.
Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson expressed unprecedented concern, stating: “For the first time in my life, I’m genuinely frightened about being a newspaper columnist.
The Assassination
Kirk was shot at 12:10 p.m. local time on Wednesday, just ten minutes into his presentation at Utah Valley University in Orem. The fatal shot is believed to have been fired from a rooftop approximately 150 yards away. Despite initial confusion about arrests, the shooter remains at large with the FBI leading an intensive manhunt.
President Trump confirmed Kirk’s death on Truth Social, calling him “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk” and ordering flags to be flown at half-staff until September 14. In a subsequent video address, Trump blamed “radical left” rhetoric for the assassination.
Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve and their two young children.
Political Condemnation
The assassination drew swift condemnation from across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated: “It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband. We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear – there can be no justification for political violence.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage praised Kirk’s work, whilst former President Barack Obama declared: “This kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy.
The incident has reignited debates about political violence in America, with many calling for increased security measures for public speakers and a reduction in inflammatory political rhetoric.
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