Montel Williams Says Charlie Kirk’s Suspected Killer Was Driven by ‘Love,’ Not Politics
Former daytime talk show host Montel Williams sparked controversy Tuesday night after claiming the suspected assassin of Charlie Kirk was motivated not by ideology but by “love” for his transgender partner.
Appearing on CNN NewsNight, Williams pushed back against mounting evidence pointing to political radicalization as a motive in the killing of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Instead, he told the panel he believes Tyler Robinson acted out of a personal emotional impulse tied to his romantic relationship — not politics.
“I don’t believe he was motivated politically,” Williams said. “I think this was motivated emotionally. I think this was an emotionally stunted person who literally – when I say it this way, just hear me — tried to defend his significant other, not trying to defend some ideology.”
Williams made the comments after prosecutors released a series of text messages between Robinson and his transgender roommate — who authorities identified as both a romantic partner and a cooperating witness. In those messages, sent shortly after the killing, Robinson repeatedly refers to the roommate as “my love” and discusses retrieving his rifle and covering his tracks.
“I am still ok my love, but am stuck in orem for a little while longer yet,” Robinson wrote in one message. “Shouldn’t be long until I can come home, but I gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest, I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.”
The messages were central to the aggravated murder charges brought against Robinson by Utah prosecutors, who allege he targeted Kirk “because of his political expression.” The shooting occurred while Kirk was answering a question about transgender athletes at Utah Valley University.
Still, Williams dismissed the political angle.
“There are people who are trying to pigeonhole this as a leftist thing and a right thing, and what we’re really talking about — hear me, because I’m going to throw you when I say this — we’re talking about a lovetorn child, a kid,” he said. “This is probably his first real relationship. And somebody was disparaging the person that he loved.”
Williams went further, noting that surveillance footage showed the shooter waited approximately 30 minutes before firing, and only did so after the word “trans” was mentioned.
“He sat on that building for 30 minutes before he took the shot. Why’d he wait until the first word ‘trans’ came up? Then he took the shot,” Williams argued.
First, the left tried to convince us the man who killed Charlie Kirk was a conservative. That failed.
Now, we’re seeing multiple attempts to frame this as some transgender love story. ENOUGH.
It’s time to accept the glaring truth that is staring you right in the face. pic.twitter.com/umjLwhGMGt
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) September 17, 2025
ABC News correspondent Matt Gutman made similar comments during a Tuesday segment, describing the texts between Robinson and his partner as “very touching in a way that many of us didn’t expect.” His remarks were met with swift backlash, prompting Gutman to walk back the statement later that evening. He admitted he had “poorly contrasted the heinous crime with the intimate tone of the texts.”
Despite attempts to frame the killing as something other than political, Vice President JD Vance and President Trump have both denounced the assassination as an act of left-wing extremism fueled by anti-conservative hatred. Federal and state authorities have not ruled out additional charges or accomplices as the investigation continues.