Actress Amanda Seyfried says the online blowback she received after calling conservative activist Charlie Kirk “hateful” in the days following his murder escalated to the point that she felt compelled to hire personal security.
In a new profile published by British GQ, Ms. Seyfried reflected on the ordeal, saying she is entitled to express her views while remaining civil.
“But there’s just an outsized fear and hatred and impulse to bash and to tear down,” she told the magazine. “And I experienced a very small fraction of that.”
“I want my kids to be able to feel safe to voice their opinions as long as they’re not harmful,” she continued. “And then all of a sudden I find myself with a bodyguard at the airport and I’m like, ’This is crazy.’”
Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist, was fatally shot on Sept. 10, 2025, during a speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with aggravated murder and additional counts, including obstruction of justice and witness tampering, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty. Mr. Robinson, who has not entered a plea, remains in custody without bail; a preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 2026.
Ms. Seyfried drew intense criticism from Kirk’s supporters after commenting on an Instagram video collecting some of his past statements with the words, “He was hateful.” Many conservatives accused the actress of implying that his killing was deserved.
She responded to the initial backlash in a standalone Instagram post, writing that she could “get angry about misogyny and racist rhetoric” while also regarding Kirk’s murder as “absolutely disturbing and deplorable in every way imaginable,” and that “no one should have to experience this level of violence.”
In a subsequent interview with Who What Wear several months later, Ms. Seyfried said she would not apologize, telling the outlet that her original comment “was based on actual reality and actual footage and actual quotes” and that she was “free to have an opinion.”
Ms. Seyfried, 40, is known for her roles in “Mean Girls,” “Mamma Mia!” and “Les Miserables.”
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