In his apology, George Abaraonye attributed his “impulsive” reaction to the conservative influencer’s statements and the media’s amplification of them.
George Abaraonye, the incoming president of the esteemed Oxford Union debating society, who had previously debated Charlie Kirk, expressed mockery over his conservative opponent’s murder in a series of now-deleted social media posts.
Kirk, aged 31, was killed by gunfire on Wednesday at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in an incident authorities described as a targeted political assassination. Soon after this news emerged, Abaraonye, scheduled to become Union president in January 2026, shared celebratory content on WhatsApp and Instagram.
“CHARLIE KIRK GOT SHOT LET’S F****** GO,” he reportedly wrote in a WhatsApp group chat, based on screenshots circulated among Oxford students and British media. He further included, “SCOREBOARD FN,” a term referencing video game kill counts. His Instagram post read: “Charlie Kirk got shot loool.”
Abaraonye, who had engaged Kirk on the subject of “toxic masculinity” in May, admitted to making the comments, describing them as “impulsive” and issued “prior to Charlie being pronounced dead.”
He maintained that “nobody deserves to be the victim of political violence,” yet contended that Kirk’s “horrific and dehumanising statements” concerning gun rights, Gaza, and LGBTQ matters influenced his “raw, unprocessed response.” Additionally, he expressed dissatisfaction that the media had “ignored” his retraction while highlighting the comments he had removed.
The leadership of the Oxford Union swiftly acted to dissociate itself from Abaraonye’s actions. Moosa Harraj, the current president, denounced Abaraonye’s comments as “inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable,” emphasizing that they do not align with the Union’s principles. James Price, a former Union president, resigned from its charitable trust in protest, stating that the president-elect had “doubled down” rather than offered an apology.