Photo of Charlie Kirk, Harvey Levin
Getty Images, screengrab

TMZ was forced to apologize after employees erupted in laughter when conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death was announced during a TMZ livestream on Wednesday, Sept. 10.

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck during a Q&A event for students at Utah Valley University in Orem, north of Provo. He was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Laughter erupted in the background when TMZ founder Harvey Levin and Charles Latibeaudiere announced the Turning Point USA founder’s assassination.

Photo of Charlie Kirk, Harvey Levin
BACKGRID, Getty Images

Levin (right) remained professional during the outburst in the background. Viewers were outraged by the cheering and laughter.

“During today’s TMZ livestream, employees were heard cheering, clapping and celebrating just 30 seconds before announcing Charlie Kirk’s death,” one X user wrote.

“They laughed and applauded the cold-blooded murder of a husband and father on a public broadcast, like it was some kind of sick joke, before handing it off to Harvey Levin.”

Levin apologized in a tweet on Wednesday evening. He claimed his employees were cheering a “high speed chase” at the time.

“We want to make it clear that these cheers were a reaction to a high-speed chase happening in California. This was prior to, and not related to Charlie Kirk’s death.”

“We were livestreaming all day during this tragedy,” he 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.”

Levin went on to say those employees “would not work here” if they found Kirk’s death funny in any way.

“We acknowledge that it was horrible timing,” Latibeaudiere said. “And for that, we are sorry. We assure you, [the laughter] was not about that.”