Abbie Chatfield has opened up about her ongoing fears and describes experiencing a ‘severe mental health episode’ after receiving numerous death threats following a post she made criticizing the death of Charlie Kirk.
Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two and a polarizing conservative figure, was shot in the neck at a rally held at Utah Valley University shortly after noon on Wednesday. He succumbed to his injuries shortly after the incident.
The alleged gunman, who was caught on camera dashing across a rooftop in the moments after he opened fire, is still at large.
The incident was labeled a ‘political assassination’ by the state’s governor, and a multitude of tributes came from various political figures, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. On Friday, Albanese expressed that Kirk’s death was ‘horrific.’
‘There is no place for violence. I think the world is shocked by such an event, and my heart goes out to Mr. Kirk’s family and to all those who will be grieving today in the United States,’ Albanese stated.
However, former reality TV star and current podcaster Abbie Chatfield publicly announced via social media shortly after Kirk’s passing that she ‘hated’ him and then issued a grim political forecast.
‘Even though I hate Charlie Kirk this is bad for everyone to be honest,’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘The right (and possibly the left) will turn more violent instead of engaging in true democracy. Kirk will become a martyr. People won’t recognize that his death is a consequence of right-wing positions on gun control, which allowed this to occur.’
Abbie Chatfield has revealed she is living in fear and has suffered a ‘severe mental health episode’ after being deluged with death threats following a critical post she made about Charlie Kirk’s murder
Kirk, a 31-year-old father-of-two and influential conservative commentator, was shot in the neck shortly after midday on Wednesday during a rally at Utah Valley University. He died a short time later
‘It will cause tensions to rise and drive people further apart than we already are. If this is the beginning, then what’s to come?’
But on Friday morning she released a lengthy statement, revealing that she had been inundated with death threats, some including her home address.
She said others had been encouraging her to speak out but she was ‘not strong enough right now to make any comment’.
‘I am in fear. I haven’t even made a statement to camera about Charlie Kirk beyond sharing others (sic) pretty mild views that are acknowledging the cognitive dissonance on the right,’ she wrote.
‘Despite my silence, this event has cause (sic) me immense distress and has jeopardised my safety.’
‘I’ve received numerous death threats with my address in them.’
On Thursday, Chatfield had also shared a quote Kirk gave in April 2023, with Alanis Morissette’s song Ironic playing over it.
‘I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights,’ the quote read.
Chatfield took to social media in the hours after his death to say she ‘hated’ Kirk – before making a grim political prediction (pictured)
It comes as left-wing influencer Hannah Ferguson (pictured) has also revealed she’s been forced to log off after being deluged with death threats for criticising Charlie Kirk just hours after he was murdered. Her profile is now private
She said she was bemused by multiple people claiming that she was to blame for Kirk’s death.
‘Even if I had (spoken about him), I’m unsure how speaking negatively about a racist, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynist in the past would somehow make his death my fault, she added.
Chatfield said her profile and media engagement had made her the ‘face of the left in mainstream Australian media’.
‘As a result, I am in danger. I have had my safety stripped from me,’ she added.
‘I endure hundreds of comments and messages every day that range from snarky to abusive to threats and fantasies of violence and rape. Sometimes with my address included.’
She claimed the police had ‘laughed’ at her when she complained about the death threats.
‘I sleep with Walters (her dog) crate across my bedroom door. I tell neighbours that if they hear screaming to immediately call the police,’ she added.
‘I am in constant fear and constant danger and have been for years, but more so in the last 12 months.’
She added: ‘Due to the abuse from this Charlie Kirk incident, (I) have suffered a severe mental health episode last night due to these growing pressures. And I am at tipping point.’
It comes as left-wing influencer Hannah Ferguson has also revealed she has been forced to log off after being deluged with death threats for criticising Kirk just hours after he was murdered.
On Friday morning Chatfield released a lengthy statement (pictured below), detailing some of the threats and intimidation she had been receiving for speaking out
Ms Ferguson, founder of independent news commentary platform Cheek Media, shared two posts just hours after Kirk was killed that criticised his politics.
‘Charlie Kirk will receive more media coverage for his death than any of the school students lost to gun violence that he said were ‘unfortunately worth it’ to preserve second amendment rights,’ Ms Ferguson wrote.
Kirk had not claimed that children dying was ‘worth it’, but instead claimed that ‘some gun deaths’ were the sad cost of upholding the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, which is the right to keep and bear arms.
His full quote, from 2023, was: ‘I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.’
In another post, Ms Ferguson’s Cheek Media stated: ‘Political violence is not the answer, but the realities of Kirk’s extreme messaging and how they relate to his death must still be pointed out.’
She also penned a long piece where she argued that ‘support and condemnation are not the only two choice (of response) available’.
‘Charlie Kirk was killed today in an act of gun violence his views permitted. In the world I will continue to advocate for, he’d still be alive,’ Ms Ferguson wrote.
She told her 200,000 Instagram followers that ‘you can’t ignore the irony’ of Kirk’s death.
‘When a person responsible for so much hate dies, progressive spaces respond immediately with debates of respectability politics.’
Ms Ferguson said, upon hearing of the news of Kirk’s killing, she looked inside herself to see if she felt a ‘small sense of relief’ but instead felt ‘nothing’.
At length, she articulated how her thoughts were still forming about Kirk’s death before asking a series of questions.
Ms Ferguson (pictured) said, upon hearing of the news of Kirk’s killing, she looked inside herself to see if she felt a ‘small sense of relief’ but instead felt ‘nothing’.
‘Am I glad Charlie Kirk will no longer spread his extremist messaging? Yes,’ she wrote.
‘Am I happy that someone shot him in the neck in broad daylight? No.
‘Do I believe he empowered the violence that ended his life? Yes.
‘Do I believe he caused more harm than good? Yes.
‘Is violence sometimes necessary?’ Yes.
‘Is this act of political violence an act of progress? No.’
In response to her various posts, Ms Ferguson was inundated with criticism.
One person claimed it was the ‘most disgusting piece of political writing’ they had ever heard, while another said it was ‘shameful’.
‘The underlying tone of that entire word salad is that you are pro political violence, and that you’re not affected by the murder of a father of two whatsoever,’ they added.
Ms Ferguson revealed on Friday morning that she had been flooded with death threats.
‘With death threats at a record high, I shall be taking a few days away from my phone,’ she wrote, while sharing a link to tickets for forthcoming shows.
She had turned her profile to private shortly afterwards.
