A self-described witch who says she was commissioned through Etsy to place a “curse” on conservative activist Charlie Kirk days before he was shot dead has expressed regret and offered to speak privately with his widow, Erika Kirk, as the fallout from a satirical Jezebel article reverberates beyond the killing and into disputes over online harassment, faith and intent. Identifying herself as “Priestess Lilin,” the practitioner told the Daily Mail—according to an account first reported by The Independent—that “we regret any distress experienced,” adding: “What we do is done based on an impartial perspective and at a professional level. We respect the widow’s feelings and welcome a private conversation to address her concerns.” The remarks are the first on-the-record message directed to Erika since the shooting and follow days of criticism aimed at the Jezebel piece that described buying hexes for publication two days before Kirk’s death.
Kirk, 31, the founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot in the neck on 10 September while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, during a campus event that drew thousands. Authorities arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson after a 33-hour manhunt; prosecutors have charged him with aggravated murder and other felonies and said in court filings that Robinson left a note laying out his plan and later described the attack in messages. Robinson is being held without bail pending further proceedings. Officials have not linked the Jezebel article or any purported curses to the crime, and investigators continue to focus on evidence surrounding the suspect’s movements, planning and motive.
The Jezebel article, published on 8 September under the headline “We Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk,” described the author commissioning multiple spell-casters to “punish” the right-wing figure for what the piece called “years of regressive rhetoric.” After the shooting, Jezebel appended an editor’s note condemning the violence and later removed the byline; industry outlets recorded the changes and noted that the story stated the author was “not calling on dark forces to cause him harm.” The backlash, however, accelerated once news broke of Kirk’s killing, turning the essay—intended, editors said, as caustic commentary on internet culture—into a flashpoint over taste, ethics and the boundaries of satire aimed at a named individual.
The Independent’s report on Monday said someone styling herself “Priestess Lilin” responded to the controversy by signaling contrition for distress caused and by asking for a private channel with the family. The outlet quoted the practitioner as saying, “Our spells are spiritual in nature and we do not perform actions that are intended to cause physical harm,” a formulation intended to draw a line between ritual and violence while acknowledging the sensitivities of a widow whose husband was targeted and killed. Yahoo and AOL carried the same statements in briefings that summarized the sequence—Jezebel’s commission, the shooting, and a subsequent appeal from the practitioner to speak to Erika.