A magazine which ‘paid Etsy witches to put a curse on Charlie Kirk’ days before he was shot to death has responded to the killing.
Police are still searching for the shooter after the Donald Trump ally was killed at an event at Utah Valley University yesterday.
Despite Mr Kirk’s controversial political opinions his death has drawn outrage from across the political spectrum, condemning political violence and the suppression of free speech.
Follow Metro’s live blog for coverage of the Charlie Kirk shooting
But it seems news and opinion site Jezebel has ended up with more than they bargained for after an article about ‘cursing’ Mr Kirk went live just two days before his death.
The piece ran with the headline ‘We Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk’, and detailed the author’s conversations and experiences with multiple self-described ‘witches’ who were offering to curse people over the small business site Etsy.
The article’s subheading read: ‘If the far-right misogynist with a bad haircut wants to villainise independent women, Jezebel is more than happy to be the hag of his nightmares.’
The concept of ‘cursing’ unpopular political figures isn’t brand new: there’s an entire subreddit dedicated to casting hexes on Donald Trump every night.
Summing up the premise of the article, it reads: ‘Are you interested in punishing Kirk for the years of regressive rhetoric he’s shouted at America’s youth and anyone within earshot?
‘Here at Jezebel, we’re about to find out if there’s a spell for that.’
The author of the story – who’s name has since been removed from the piece – did however add a disclaimer about their intentions when trying to ‘curse’ Mr Kirk.
It read: ‘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.
‘I want his blue blazers to suddenly all be one size too small. I want one of his socks to always be sliding down his foot. I want his thumb to grow too big to tweet.
‘To ruin his day with the collective feminist power of the Etsy coven would be my life’s greatest joy.’
The author of the story purchased several spells from different witches, including a ‘MAKE EVERYONE HATE HIM’ spell, a ‘POWERFUL HEX SPELL’, and another hex from another witch called ‘Priestess Lilin’ who reportedly sent a video of Mr Kirk’s picture being set on fire.
Response from ‘Priestess Lilin’ over death of Charlie Kirk
Priestess Lilin told Metro: I would like to say first off that a person’s life and death always has weight, and we do not celebrate the loss of life.
With that said, throughout the witchcraft community many of us believe that spells, magic and curses are very real and can bring about profound change in this world, whether it be through psychological or metaphysical means.
As sisters we have dealt and seen things we cannot explain, done things that defy logic, magic is very much real to us.
While we cannot claim literal responsibility for Mr Kirk’s death, we do affirm that the magic we work with is effective.
When you work that in alignment with the collective energy, it can manifest in unthinkable ways.
We hope that sums up our stance on this matter. Thank you for visiting our shoppe.
Infernal Blessings,
Priestess Lilin
Following the shooting on September 10, Jezebel has added an editor’s note to the top of the piece.
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.’
Josh Jackson, president of Paste Media Group which owns Jezebel, said in a statement to 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.’
Metro has contacted Jezebel for further comment
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