“Horrible timing.”
That’s how TMZ is explaining the sounds of laughter and cheering from its newsroom during a livestream just as the online tabloid was announcing the shooting death of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.
TMZ founder Harvey Levin and executive producer Charles Latibeaudiere sheepishly apologized for the moment in a video posted online Thursday, denying that staff were reacting to news of Kirk’s death.
“We were livestreaming all day during this tragedy when something happened in our office,” Levin began.
“As 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 and they were laughing and they were clapping and you could hear it out here.
“We want to make a couple of things clear — one is that I know these people and they were not laughing, they were not reacting that way about Charlie Kirk’s assassination, they were not, they would not work here if they did,” Levin added.
“It was inappropriate for the laughter at that time, but no one was laughing at the Charlie Kirk tragedy.”
Latibeaudiere chimed in, admitting that the optics were terrible, while standing by Levin’s explanation.
“We acknowledge that it was horrible timing and for that we are sorry. I get why if you were watching the stream you may have felt that that’s what the laughter was about, we assure you it was not about that but it was horrible timing.”
“We apologize for the way it sounded.”
Kirk, 31, was on stage during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University on Wednesday when he was struck in the neck area by a single bullet fired from a nearby rooftop.
U.S. President Donald Trump later confirmed that Kirk, who founded conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, had died.
Many feel Kirk was instrumental in helping Trump get re-elected through his sway with young conservatives.
On Thursday the FBI released images of the shooter, who remains at large. A high-powered rifle was later recovered from a wooded area.
