Actor Rainn Wilson—best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on The Office—called out what he described as disturbing reactions from liberal elites following the tragic assassination of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk.
During a recent episode of his podcast Soul Boom, Wilson described encountering a number of his left-leaning acquaintances who expressed zero remorse—some even smug satisfaction—over the shocking murder of the Turning Point USA founder.
“I spoke to a couple of — let’s say — some liberal friends last night at an event, and they were like, ‘You won’t find me shedding any tears,’ and someone else was like, ‘Oh well,’” Wilson recounted. “There was a little bit of a, kind of a good riddance thing, and it’s like, ‘Guys, no. We cannot think or talk that way. That is not okay.’”
Wilson’s comments came in a candid discussion with fellow actor Mark Ruffalo. While both men acknowledged their political differences with Kirk, they agreed that celebrating or excusing violence against ideological opponents crosses a dangerous line—one that threatens the very fabric of a civil society.
“Even if they’re vociferous and loud and out there, shooting someone that we disagree with is so colossally wrongheaded,” Wilson said earlier in the conversation, underscoring a crucial point too often ignored in today’s hyper-partisan climate.
Ruffalo, a vocal progressive activist, echoed the sentiment, revealing how deeply the assassination impacted him personally. His own brother was shot and killed years ago—making Kirk’s death feel especially visceral.
“There’s no winning. We’ll never win this way,” Ruffalo said. “There’s no idea that if we cheer on our opponents being hurt or harmed in any way that we win as a society. We all lose.”
While Ruffalo referred to Kirk as his “political opponent,” Wilson gently pushed back on the terminology, warning that such labels only deepen the cultural rift.
“How can we reframe it from ‘opponent’ to, you know, just someone we disagree with?” he asked, suggesting that the dehumanization of the other side only fuels more division—and, tragically, more violence.
As the conversation continued, Ruffalo veered into a discussion on gun control, decrying the prevalence of “weapons of war” on American streets. Though neither actor could confirm the exact firearm used in Kirk’s assassination, Wilson noted it was a sniper rifle—a chilling detail pointing to the premeditated nature of the act.
The weapon, according to law enforcement, was a bolt-action rifle—a type often used in hunting and known for its accuracy and simplicity. Unlike semi-automatic firearms, bolt-action rifles require manual reloading between shots, making them far from the so-called “assault weapons” often vilified in gun control debates.
Still, Ruffalo insisted the rifle’s sole purpose was to “kill human beings,” lamenting the broader culture of violence he believes such weapons represent.
“When you keep signing off on those weapons being acceptable, you’re actually tacitly signing off on them being used on human beings as the ultimate solution,” Ruffalo claimed.
Yet what was perhaps most revealing about the podcast wasn’t the debate over guns—but the moral reckoning among two Hollywood liberals willing to admit their own side has crossed a line.
Rainn Wilson deserves some credit for stepping up and speaking out against the hateful rhetoric that has become all too common on the left.
Because if assassination becomes an acceptable form of political expression, then no one—Left or Right—is truly safe.
