Senator Fatima Payman has described Charlie Kirk as an ‘awful person’ in a video in which she appears to make light of his assassination.
Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two and controversial conservative commentator, was shot in the neck last week during a rally at Utah Valley University. He died a short time later.
The independent senator for WA responded to Kirk’s death in a live TikTok video, recorded at some point over the last week.
‘What do I think about Charlie Kirk and obviously his assassination?’, she told her nearly 195,000 followers.
‘I think he was a pretty awful person and he doesn’t deserve all the recognition he’s getting.’
She added: ‘It would have been best to not have him assassinated and for him to remain a footnote in the Trumpian era of the United States.
‘But yeah, so, not cool. Yeah, Charlie Kirk got shot and he’s RIP – whatever you want RIP to stand for! Some people will say it’s not peace. Fill in the blanks people, fill in the blanks.’
Her video has received swift condemnation, with One Nation Leader – and longtime Payman enemy – Pauline Hanson claiming it exposes her ‘radical leftist ideology’.
Senator Fatima Payman has described Charlie Kirk as an ‘awful person’ in a video in which she appears to make light of his assassination (pictured)
Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two and controversial conservative commentator, was shot in the neck last week during a rally at Utah Valley University. He died a short time later
‘Fatima Payman mocking the death of Charlie Kirk isn’t just vile, it’s revealing,’ Senator Hanson said.
‘When the mask slips, this is what the left shows us: no compassion, no decency, only contempt. And yet they lecture the rest of us about unity and respect.
‘Remember this moment the next time anyone from the left starts lecturing from atop their moral high horse.’
Senator Ralph Babet said her comments were ‘not an offhand slip.’
‘This was gleeful, calculated mockery of a man’s violent murder, broadcast to the world from the platform of a sitting Australian Senator,’ he added.
‘It was indecent. It was inhumane. And it was a desecration of the dignity that every person, no matter their political beliefs, is owed in death.’
A spokesperson for Senator Payman did not reveal what other possible meaning of ‘RIP’ she was referring to.
‘Senator Payman condemns all forms of political violence, and the level of violence we are seeing in the United States is frightening,’ the spokesperson added.
‘The Senator extends her sympathies to Charlie Kirk’s young family. For them, this is a terrible tragedy, and they deserve compassion in their grief.’
The spokesperson insisted that Senator Payman ‘notes that since Mr Kirk’s death, there has been a wave of commentary revisiting his statements and public positions.
‘The Senator will not engage in attempts to recast or glorify Mr Kirk’s record. Her focus remains on condemning violence, supporting victims of hate speech, and standing for respectful, democratic debate,’ the spokesperson added.