The piece, titled “We Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk,” was published on 8 September. It described hiring self-styled witches to perform symbolic curses, wishing him trivial misfortunes such as a dodgy podcast microphone, a zit at the worst possible time, a sock that wouldn’t stay up, and the hope that “everyone hate him.”
The writer stressed there was no call for harm, saying: “I’m not calling on dark forces to cause him harm,” framing the stunt as satire on Kirk’s persona and the way witchcraft has been turned into an online commodity.
But Kirk’s assassination on 10 September saw the story take on an ugly resonance. Jezebel hastily slapped on an editor’s note: “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.”
That hasn’t stopped a flood of criticism accusing the site of poor judgement and raising questions about media responsibility. Some Etsy spell-flingers even shared “proof” of their work, including an image of Kirk engulfed in flames captioned “Trust the unseen.” One insisted results would appear within “two to three weeks.”
The Pagan and witchcraft communities now fear being tarred with the brush of political violence thanks to a satirical article penned by Muggles that collided horribly with real-world tragedy. They are concerned that right-wing Christian nationalists, who are famous for their lack of humour, and literal interpretation of the bible and satire will use the assassination as a reason to start lynching and witch burnings in the name of Jesus.
The Wild Hunt felt compelled to inform its readers that the story appears to have gained traction in some conservative media already.
"Jezebel’s satirical piece, while consistent with the magazine’s brand, and especially in the context of today’s events, risks stoking backlash against our community by invoking old, unfounded stereotypes and long-standing suspicions about Witchcraft."
Right-wing comic Breitbart claimed that left-wing feminist witches arranged the curse and set that angle on the story, alongside that of Kirk's pastor, Rob McCoy, who said, “My friend Charlie Kirk was murdered today by a coward. His life will be remembered for many wonderful things. He built it all with the power of the spoken word. He never used violence but was threatened every day with violence by those who couldn’t contend with logic and truth, and now they have done to my friend what evil always does: it takes away life.”
The comment, being made by a priest who lionised Jan. 6, 2021, rioters about a man who claimed that gun deaths were desirable to keep freedoms, and called for the reprogramming or stoning of LGBTQIA+ members, seems a little ironic on this side of the pond.
As of 11 September, police had yet to apprehend a suspect and patrons at the Red Lion have opened a book with suggestions ranging from the CIA to distract people from the Epstein files to a jilted boyfriend.
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