TMZ has apologized for “tone deaf” laughter heard during a livestream announcing the death of Charlie Kirk.
The entertainment site had been covering the aftermath of the shooting at Utah Valley University when laughter and applause were heard, just seconds before editor Harvey Levin and executive producer Charles Latibeaudiere announced that the MAGA podcaster had died.
Laura Loomer, a high-profile MAGA influencer, was quick to showcase the moment.
Levin said the laughing was not about Kirk’s murder. He claimed his staff members were actually laughing at a police chase that took place in Los Angeles, where the suspect switched vehicles midway through a pursuit.
“We were livestreaming all day during this tragedy,” Levin said in an apology video, alongside Latibeaudiere.
“When we were reporting the assassination of Charlie Kirk, there were some people in the back room, away from our news desk here, who were watching a car chase.”
He said that’s what the people were amused by, not the assassination of the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder.
“We acknowledge that it was horrible timing,” Latibeaudiere added. “And for that, we are sorry. We assure you, [the laughter] was not about that.”
In a written follow-up on the site, TMZ repeated the apology—and the reasons behind the jovial atmosphere in its office.
“The people watching that car chase began laughing and clapping in reaction to what they were seeing, but we want to make it clear… they were not cheering in response to the assassination,” the piece read, linking to an article about a car chase in South Los Angeles.
“Nevertheless… watching a car chase at that moment was tone deaf, and the sounds of laughter at that crucial moment were totally out of line. We apologize to anyone who heard that, as we were in the middle of covering such a tragic story.”
Critics were quick to condemn TMZ right after the gaffe. “They were happy to hear the news of Charlie Kirk’s death and can be heard clapping and cheering before passing the news to Harvey Levin, who was hosting the stream,” right-wing activist Laura Loomer wrote on X.
After the apology, she added, “They are just sorry they got caught.”
