Jen Thomas
In the wake of the shooting of political activist Charlie Kirk, social media users noticed an unfortunately-timed article had been published days before.
Charlie Kirk, an ally of Donald Trump, died at the age of 31 on Wednesday, after he was shot while speaking at a university rally at Utah Valley University.
The Conservative who co-founded the Turning Point USA group was shot in the neck while answering questions about gun crime, and a manhunt is still underway to find his killer.
Following the news of his death, horrified social media users spotted an article which had been published just two days earlier, referring to a 'curse' on Kirk.
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Feminist news outlet Jezebel had written an article titled "We Paid Some Etsy Witches To Curse Charlie Kirk".
It started: “If the far-right misogynist with a bad haircut wants to villainize independent women, Jezebel is more than happy to be the hag of his nightmares.”
The article then proceeds to explain how they used the marketplace website Etsy to find the services of a self-proclaimed 'witch'.
The writer asked if the reader was 'interested in punishing Kirk for the years of regressive rhetoric he’s shouted at America’s youth', before revealing they could purchase a hex on the website.
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They stressed: “I want to make it clear, I’m not calling on dark forces to cause him harm. I just want him to wake up every morning with an inexplicable zit. I want his podcast microphone to malfunction every time he hits record… To ruin his day with the collective feminist power of the Etsy coven would be my life’s greatest joy,” the article reads.
They insisted they only wanted to 'make everyone hate him' with a 'powerful hex spell.'
Since the news of Kirk's death, an editor's note has been added to the article.
It reads: “This story was published on September 8. Jezebel condemns the shooting of Charlie Kirk in the strongest possible terms. We do not endorse, encourage, or excuse political violence of any kind.”
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The original byline has also been amended and now shows 'By Jezebel'.
Josh Jackson is the president of Paste Media Group, who owns Jezebel. He told Variety: “The article was a tongue-in-cheek exploration of people selling hexes on Etsy, and intended as a satirical response to Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric over the years."
"The writer was very clear that she didn’t want real harm to come to Kirk. What happened today is tragic and becoming all too commonplace, and we condemn this awful act of violence.”
The piece ends with the writer asking: “So, did my Etsy curses work? Time will tell… For now, we can only trust in the timing of the great unknown.”
They added: "And to you, Mr. Kirk: May the rash come swiftly.”'
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One social media user shared the post on X (formerly Twitter) asking: "Is this how religions start?"
"This is disgusting!" added another, as one shared: "Reading this article now is crazy, man."