By Frank Yemi

Copyright inquisitr

Brian Kilmeade’s on air suggestion that some mentally ill homeless people should be given “involuntary lethal injection” has blown up into a crisis Fox News cannot ignore. The Fox & Friends co-host apologized, calling his words “extremely callous,” but the outrage has only grown, and the business fallout could be next.

The spark was the August stabbing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail train. Authorities say Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., who has a history of severe mental illness, is charged in federal court with causing death on a mass transportation system, a charge that can carry the death penalty. As the case drew national attention, Kilmeade fumed on air, “Or involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill ’em.” He later walked it back, saying, “I wrongly said they should get lethal injection. I apologize for that extremely callous remark,” and added that many people experiencing homelessness deserve empathy and compassion.

What makes this more than a one-day dust-up is the money. A PR expert told The Mirror US that Kilmeade’s comments “crossed a line” and could trigger a brand exodus, warning Fox could be staring at “tens of millions” in lost ad revenue if sponsors decide they want distance. That kind of scenario is not theoretical in cable news, advertisers tend to flee controversies that touch mental health and homelessness, and once premium brands pause, the ad load thins and rates get discounted.

Advocacy groups piled on, urging Fox to sever ties. The National Alliance to End Homelessness called Kilmeade’s remark “deeply dangerous” and pressed for consequences that go beyond an apology. That pressure campaign puts sponsors in the spotlight and keeps the clip cycling online, a bad combination for any morning show that depends on mainstream advertising.

Meanwhile, the underlying crime story is still developing, which means Kilmeade’s quote keeps getting revived. North Carolina lawmakers rushed through a sweeping response, nicknamed “Iryna’s Law,” that tightens pretrial rules and sets a path to revive executions if lethal injection is blocked. The measure cleared the legislature and went to Governor Josh Stein for review, guaranteeing more headlines, more debate over mental illness, and more reminders of what Kilmeade said in the heat of the moment.

Inside Fox, the calculus is simple and brutal. If buyers start to wobble, the network must choose between absorbing lower revenue to keep a longtime personality, or making a change to steady the ad market. Past flare-ups at cable networks show how quickly momentum can shift when brands do not want their logos near a storm, even when ratings hold.

Kilmeade’s defenders argue that he apologized, that he acknowledged the reality of mental illness and the need for compassion, and that a single terrible line should not define a decades-long career. His critics counter that you cannot unring a bell like this, that the language was dehumanizing, and that leaving him on air sends the wrong signal to viewers who live with these issues every day.

The PR expert says Fox has a choice: ride it out and risk the brand, or cut ties and move on. If sponsors blink, the clock on that decision speeds up. If they hold, Fox may try to wait for the news cycle to cool. Right now, though, the heat is still rising, and Kilmeade’s future looks shakier by the day.