Opinion columnist Karen Attiah was fired from the Washington Post after criticizing political violence and racial double standards following Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Her comments, seen as controversial, led to accusations of misconduct. Her firing aligns with the Post’s editorial shift under Jeff Bezos and pressure from conservatives targeting Kirk critics.
Columnist Karen Attiah says she was fired by The Washington Post last week over a series of social media posts about gun control and race in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“As a columnist, I used my voice to defend freedom and democracy, challenge power and reflect on culture and politics with honesty and conviction,” Karen Attiah wrote in a post on Substack published Monday. “Now, I am the one being silenced — for doing my job.”
In writings on the social platform Bluesky, Karen Attiah bemoaned that America, in her view, “accepts and worships” gun violence.
“I pointed to the familiar pattern of America shrugging off gun deaths, and giving compassion for white men who commit and espouse political violence,” she wrote in the subsequent Substack post.
“My only direct reference to Kirk was one post— his own words on record,” she said, including a screenshot of a quote in which Kirk said several prominent Black women “do not have brain processing power to be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot.”
The Post, the columnist said, “accused my measured Bluesky posts of being ‘unacceptable’, ‘gross misconduct’ and of endangering the physical safety of colleagues — charges without evidence, which I reject completely as false.”
“They rushed to fire me without even a conversation,” Karen Attiah said. “This was not only a hasty overreach, but a violation of the very standards of journalistic fairness and rigor the Post claims to uphold.”
A Post spokesperson decline to comment and pointed The Hill to the news outlet’s publicly-available social media policy. and standards for its journalists.
Who is Karen Attiah?
Karen Attiah joined The Washington Post in 2014, the Independent reported. Karen Attiah later became the founding editor of its Global Opinions section.
Karen Attiah also gained international recognition for her work with Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in 2018. During this time, she worked closely with Khashoggi until his death and has since spoken publicly about seeking justice in his case.
She is also the recipient of the George Polk Award and Journalist of the Year from the National Association of Black Journalists in 2019.
In her statement, Attiah said she was the last full-time Black opinion columnist at the Post and framed her firing as part of a broader trend of reducing diverse voices in US media.
Her termination comes shortly after MSNBC cut ties with analyst Matthew Dowd, who described Kirk as divisive in on-air remarks. Several companies and institutions have also disciplined employees for posts seen as celebrating Kirk’s death.
Attiah’s departure has also drawn attention to reported internal shifts at the Post’s opinion section, where she clashed with new leadership earlier this year.
Expressing concern over political violence
Attiah explained that her posts, written after Kirk’s death, reflected “sadness and fear for America” while condemning the country’s tolerance of political violence.
“My most widely shared thread was not even about activist Charlie Kirk, who was horribly murdered, but about the political assassinations of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman, her husband and her dog,” she said. “I pointed to the familiar pattern of America shrugging off gun deaths, and giving compassion for white men who commit and espouse political violence.”
She emphasized that her commentary was “descriptive, and supported by data,” and that she had only referenced Kirk once, quoting him saying prominent Black women like Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee “did not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously.”
What Karen Attiah said
In her Substack post, Attiah wrote that she used her platform to reflect on America’s recurring cycles of gun violence and political assassinations. She said she mentioned Kirk directly only once, by quoting his past remarks about prominent Black women.
Attiah said her posts were focused on broader patterns of how political violence is covered in the United States. She insisted her commentary was based on data and not disparaging.
She also noted that her observation about white male violence proved to be true after Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old white male, was arrested for Kirk’s killing.
Attiah said The Washington Post accused her of “gross misconduct” and claimed her posts endangered colleagues’ safety — charges she rejected.
“They rushed to fire me without even a conversation. This was not only a hasty overreach, but a violation of the very standards of journalistic fairness and rigor the Post claims to uphold,” she wrote.
Attiah noted that Tyler Robinson, 22, has since been accused of killing Kirk, a white male, reinforcing her earlier commentary about society’s response to violence by white men.
“My words on absolution for white male violence have proven prescient,” she wrote. “The media is now painting Robinson as a good, all-American suburban kid, and the cycle I mentioned has once again come to pass.”
Attiah framed her firing as part of a systemic issue.
“Washington D.C. no longer has a paper that reflects the people it serves,” she wrote. “What happened to me is part of a broader purge of Black voices from academia, business, government, and media — a historical pattern as dangerous as it is shameful — and tragic.”
She highlighted her accomplishments, including founding the Post’s Global Opinions section and hiring journalists who faced censorship abroad.
“I hired Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2017, and worked with him closely until he was murdered by the Saudi regime in Istanbul — simply for expressing himself,” Attiah said. “I put my safety on the line for years to push publicly for justice and accountability in his murder.”
Attiah’s termination comes shortly after MSNBC fired political analyst Matthew Dowd for calling Kirk a “divisive” figure who spread “hate speech.”
Her firing reflects a broader trend in which employees have faced consequences for posts critical of Kirk or perceived as celebrating his death.
Born in Northeastern Texas to Nigerian-Ghanaian parents, Karen Attiah studied Communication at Northwestern University and earned a master’s in International Affairs from Columbia University. She has worked as a World Bank media consultant, freelance reporter, and adjunct professor at Columbia. Attiah is a martial artist and Muay Thai competitor, winning a silver medal at the 2021 US Muay Thai Open.
Karen Attiah is an American writer, commentator, and editor known for her work on race, gender, culture, human rights, and international affairs.
Attiah gained international recognition for her coverage of the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, winning the 2019 George Polk Award and being named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists. She is also the founder of the Resistance Summer School, hosts The Karen Attiah Podcast, and has written influential work on AI bias and diversity. In September 2025, she was fired from the Post over social media posts following Charlie Kirk’s death.
Her career highlights include founding the Post’s Global Opinions section, advocating for press freedom following Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, and receiving multiple awards for journalistic excellence.
She joined The Washington Post in 2014, became founding editor of its Global Opinions section in 2016, and was promoted to columnist in 2021.
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