(NewsNation) — The website Jezebel has removed a satirical piece about Charlie Kirk following the conservative activist’s assassination in Utah.
The article, entitled “We Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk,” dropped Sept. 8, two days before the Turning Point USA co-founder kicked off a planned “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. During a question-and-answer session with audience members, a sniper fatally wounded Kirk, 31, before escaping.
According to a Newsweek account, the writer of the Jezebel piece wrote of a plan to hire modern-day witches through the commerce website Etsy to punish Kirk for “years of regressive rhetoric.” The writer said they didn’t want any harm to befall Kirk; their idea of punishment included having Kirk’s podcast microphone malfunction or having his blue blazers become “one size too small.”
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Variety also wrote a summation of the article, which is no longer posted at Jezebel. As of Thursday, an editor’s note atop the article’s page said the text had been removed.
“To be clear, this decision was driven by an abundance of caution for our staff and to avoid the piece being misused in a tense and volatile environment,” the statement said, in part. “We may republish at a later date, but out of compassion for the victim’s family, we want to make clear that we prioritize an end to violence over anyone wanting to read about Etsy witches.”
Kirk’s death has been condemned by politicians on both sides of the aisle and is seen as the latest example of political violence in the United States.
Jezebel is described as a cultural commentary website geared toward women.
