Entertainment outlet claims background laughter was about unrelated car chase, not conservative influencer’s assassination
TMZ has been forced to issue a grovelling apology after staff members were heard bursting into laughter moments before the outlet announced Charlie Kirk’s assassination during a livestream on Wednesday.
The entertainment news outlet found itself in the eye of a social media storm after viewers heard cheering and applause in the background whilst Harvey Levin and Charles Latibeaudiere were breaking news of the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder’s murder at Utah Valley University.
The shocking audio triggered immediate outrage across social media platforms, with conservative voices leading the charge against what many perceived as callous celebration of a political killing.
“During today’s TMZ livestream, employees were heard cheering, clapping and celebrating just 30 seconds before announcing Charlie Kirk’s death,” one X user wrote. “They laughed and applauded the cold-blooded murder of a husband and father on a public broadcast, like it was some kind of sick joke, before handing it off to Harvey Levin.”
Conservative internet personality Laura Loomer branded the incident “DISGUSTING” in a scathing post on X. “Shameful and disgusting behavior by TMZ. Shame on them. Charlie is a husband and a father. He was murdered in cold blood,” she wrote.
‘Horrible Timing’ Defence
Facing mounting backlash, TMZ’s founder Harvey Levin appeared in an emergency apology video alongside co-host Charles Latibeaudiere to address the controversy. The duo claimed the laughter had nothing to do with Kirk’s assassination but was instead a reaction to an unrelated car chase being watched in another room.
“We were livestreaming all day during this tragedy,” Levin explained. “When we were reporting the assassination of Charlie Kirk, there were some people in the back room, away from our news desk here, who were watching a car chase.”
He insisted that staff members were “laughing and clapping at the car chase, not Kirk being shot in the neck,” going so far as to declare that anyone who found Kirk’s death amusing “would not work here.”
Latibeaudiere acknowledged the damaging optics of the incident, stating: “We acknowledge that it was horrible timing. And for that, we are sorry. We assure you, [the laughter] was not about that.”
In a written statement accompanying their video apology, TMZ admitted that “watching a car chase at that moment was tone deaf,” though they maintained the laughter was purely coincidental rather than malicious.
Political Firestorm
The incident has added fuel to an already inflammatory situation following Kirk’s daylight assassination at Utah Valley University, where the conservative firebrand was shot once in the neck whilst addressing a crowd of 3,000 supporters during his “American Comeback Tour.”
The controversy comes as authorities continue their manhunt for Kirk’s killer, with FBI Director Kash Patel confirming that two suspects initially detained have been released after interrogation. The actual gunman, described only as wearing dark clothing and firing from a rooftop position, remains at large.
Kirk’s death has prompted unprecedented bipartisan condemnation of political violence, with President Donald Trump calling it “a dark day for America” and former President Barack Obama denouncing the “despicable violence.
The TMZ incident has particularly stung conservative commentators who view it as symptomatic of broader media bias and the toxic political climate that may have contributed to Kirk’s assassination. Many pointed out that regardless of TMZ’s explanation, the optics of laughter during such a grave announcement were inexcusable.
Social media users noted that Levin appeared stoic and professional whilst delivering the tragic news, making the background laughter all the more jarring for viewers who initially assumed it was directed at Kirk’s death.
Media Standards Under Scrutiny
The controversy has reignited debates about professionalism in modern media, particularly in the age of livestreaming where unscripted moments can instantly go viral. Media critics argued that regardless of the true cause of the laughter, the incident demonstrated a lack of situational awareness and basic newsroom discipline during coverage of a national tragedy.
TMZ’s explanation that staff were watching a car chase whilst their colleagues reported on a political assassination has itself drawn criticism, with many questioning why any form of entertainment content would be consumed in the newsroom during such serious breaking news coverage.
The outlet’s swift apology appears to have done little to quell the anger, with the incident trending across multiple social media platforms and conservative media outlets seizing on the story as evidence of left-wing media insensitivity.
As the search for Kirk’s killer continues and the nation grapples with another act of political violence, the TMZ incident serves as a stark reminder of how quickly media organisations can find themselves at the centre of controversy in an already deeply divided America.
Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA at just 18 years old, leaves behind his wife Erika and two young children. His assassination has been described by Utah Governor Spencer Cox as a “political assassination” that represents “a dark day for our state.”
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