US-based feminist website Jezebel was forced to issue a statement condemning the murder of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk, stating it does not endorse political violence, after it ran a story about how it “paid witches at e-commerce website Etsy to curse Kirk”. The story appeared two days before Kirk was shot dead during a college event in Utah.
In the article that appeared on Monday, the Jezebel writer waxes on the charms of being able to purchase a “curse as easily as I can buy a phone charger”. “You can find a spell for just about anything,” he author wrote. “Don't want it to rain on your wedding day? There's a spell for that.”
The author then describes Kirk as a “reliable pawn”, parroting Project 2025 talking points and championing the owning-of-the-libs.” “He’s basically a fake news vending machine with a terrible haircut. Sadly, Trump’s re-election only ensured I’d be seeing more of that godawful haircut,” the author said. 'Maybe it's his obsession with telling women what to do or his aggressively large head, but the far-right podcaster's presence is more irritating than most,' the author said.
However, the author said he/she is not “calling on dark forces to cause him harm.”
“I just want him to wake up every morning with an inexplicable zit. I want his podcast microphone to malfunction every time he hits record. I want his blue blazers to suddenly all be one size too small. I want one of his socks to always be sliding down his foot. I want his thumb to grow too big to tweet. To ruin his day with the collective feminist power of the Etsy coven would be my life’s greatest joy,” the author’s ill-timed article read.
The author hits out at society for branding “bold and assertive women as witches to silence them” and states that Kirk assumes that “every liberal, college-educated woman is a feminist witch hellbent on destroying civilization”. “If Kirk wants a villain, I'm more than happy to be the hag of his nightmares,” the author said.
The author then highlights the three witches she found on Etsy and their specialities. After deciding on a priestess, the author says she waited for the effect, which did not appear till Tuesday.
“Sunday, August 24, passed. Nothing. Monday, still nothing. Tuesday rolled around, and I began to wonder if I’d been scammed. But then I reminded myself: this is witchcraft, not Amazon. The forces operate on their own schedule,” the author wrote.
However, after the shocking death, the team behind Jezbel edited the article to include a note that the story was published on September 8. “Jezebel condemns the shooting of Charlie Kirk in the strongest possible terms. We do not endorse, encourage, or excuse political violence of any kind,” it read.