Homelessness and poverty are issues that even America is struggling with! But Fox News host Brian Kilmeade’s suggestion to tackle the problem wasn’t just bizarre, it was criminal. Last week, during a discussion on Fox & Friends about the fatal attack on 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zarutska, on a light rail train, Kilmeade made a comment so shocking that even his admirers couldn’t defend him. What followed was a wave of massive backlash on social media, which eventually forced him to issue an apology.
Zarutska was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina. The accused is reportedly a homeless man with a long criminal record. His family has described him as a paranoid schizophrenic. The shocking attack was captured on CCTV cameras and quickly went viral across social media platforms.
Iryna Zarutska
We must NEVER forget her
RIP Iryna 😢😢😢😢 pic.twitter.com/3Piv245olr
— Lee Patriot Hood (@Mofoman360) September 14, 2025
Discussion around the incident led co-host Laurence Jones to note that billions of dollars are spent on programs to help homeless and mentally ill people, but they resist the help.
Jones said, “A lot of them don’t want to get the help that is necessary. You can’t give them the choice. Either you take the resources that we’re going to give you, or you decide that you’ve got to be locked up in jail.”
Kimeande then said something unexpected. Adding to Jones’ observation, he suggested tackling the homeless using “involuntary lethal injection or something — just kill ’em.”
The backlash was inevitable. Netizens pointed out that his statement was “disgusting” and “unacceptable.”
“If Fox has any integrity, he’d be fired immediately!” an X user tweeted.
If Fox has any integrity, he’d be fired immediately!
— Dib (@Dibplodicus) September 14, 2025
Though he wasn’t fired, he was forced to apologize for his insensitive statement on television. On Sunday’s edition of the morning program, Kilmeade issued an apology. After all, he had no justification for what he said.
“I apologize for that extremely callous remark,” he said, while further adding, “I am obviously aware that not all mentally ill, homeless people act as the perpetrator did in North Carolina and that so many homeless people deserve our empathy and compassion.”
The host shared the clip on his X profile as well, with a simple caption that reads, “My apology.”
My apology pic.twitter.com/VeoLkpDyPq
— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) September 14, 2025
Kilmeade’s decision to publicly apologize was a clever move to stop the criticism and probably to save his job as well. Very recently, political analyst Matthew Dowd lost his contributor role at MSNBC for his comments on the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. In his comment, he seemed to have justified Kirk’s killing as he stated that “hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.”
His comment was quickly noticed by viewers of the show and social media users. And there was no going back for him. Though he apologized for his words, the damage was already done.
“I in no way intended to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack,” Dowd said. Rebecca Kutler, president of MSNBC also issued an apology and eliminated ties with Dowd. After this shameful incident, the employees were reportedly told that “we need to do better.”
Kilmeade was caught in a similar situation. The difference is that Dowd commented on a well-known personality, while Kilmeade’s comment was on the ‘poor’ and ‘faceless’ people. None of the statements was acceptable, and an apology was the bare minimum. But it’s a lesson for the TV personalities to watch their words, else it could forever tarnish their image, or cost them their jobs as well.
Fire him! Apology not enough. He wants to kill people because they are homeless. We do not need anyone like him reporting any news or even showing his face on tv. Fire him or the whole station is saying you agree with him and an “I’m sorry” with a dismissive pat on the head is as disgusting as what he said.