By Editor,Nicholas Comino
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Aussie comedians slammed for ‘sickening’ joke about the shooting of Charlie Kirk
The Chaser slammed over joke about fatal shooting
READ MORE: Abbie Chatfield announces she ‘hates’ Charlie Kirk
By NICHOLAS COMINO, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA
Published: 05:39 BST, 11 September 2025 | Updated: 06:15 BST, 11 September 2025
Australian satire outlet The Chaser is facing widespread backlash after publishing a controversial joke about the fatal shooting of US conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, 31, was shot on Thursday morning while speaking at Utah Valley University, the first stop of his ‘American Comeback Tour.’
The incident, which occurred during a Q&A session, left Kirk fatally wounded after a single gunshot struck him in the neck.
His wife and two young children were reportedly in attendance.
The shooting has sent shockwaves across the globe. U.S. President Donald Trump called it ‘a dark moment for America,’ and vowed to take action.
‘My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organisations that fund it and support it,’ Trump said.
The tragedy coincided with R U OK? Day, a national Australian initiative held on the second Thursday of September to promote mental health awareness and encourage people to check in on others.
In response, The Chaser published a satirical headline: ‘R U OK Day not going well at Turning Point,’ a reference to Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organisation Kirk founded.
The headline shared by The Chaser (pictured) was immediately condemned online
The post was met with immediate condemnation and comments and replies were turned off on X.
‘The Chaser gloating over Charlie Kirk being shot in the neck and bleeding out to death in front of his family. They’ve turned off comments. Share this around so they disgrace themselves all around the world,’ one user wrote.
‘Once funny. Eons ago. Now just bitter, irrelevant and sick,’ said another.
‘Engagement to stay relevant when you’re not.’ someone else said.
The Chaser, once known for its popular ABC program The Chaser’s War on Everything, now operates as an independently funded website.
While The Chaser is funded independently, no longer having a direct association with the ABC, tax payer funded advertisements by the ABC, for it’s new show ‘Optics’, appear alongside the article.
Daily Mail contacted ABC for comment.
The article’s author, John Delmenico, also came under fire.
Charlie Kirk (pictured) was shot fatally early Thursday morning, his killer remains at large
The author of the joke, John Delmenico (pictured), was slammed by activist Drew Pavlou
Australian political campaigner Drew Pavlou, known for his activism against the Chinese Communist Party, condemned Delmenico directly.
‘He’s the one mocking the political assassination of somebody with views representing half of America,’ Pavlou wrote.
Pavlou then issued a further message, warning against the glorifying of political violence.
‘Think very carefully where you stand today. If you celebrate murdering people for their political views, you could make yourself a target one day. That is the reality of political violence. It always spirals out of control.’ he said.
‘Once the genie is out of the bottle it’s over for everybody.’
Kirk’s killer remains at large, with two people arrested and released following interrogation by the FBI.
Daily Mail contacted The Chaser for comment.
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Aussie comedians slammed for ‘sickening’ joke about the shooting of Charlie Kirk
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