{"id":2592759,"date":"2026-04-20T11:26:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T15:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/podcaster-slandered-charlie-kirks-character-just-after-his-death-was-set-to-speak-at-school-he-was-killed-at\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T11:29:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T15:29:04","slug":"podcaster-slandered-charlie-kirks-character-just-after-his-death-was-set-to-speak-at-school-he-was-killed-at","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/podcaster-slandered-charlie-kirks-character-just-after-his-death-was-set-to-speak-at-school-he-was-killed-at\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcaster Slandered Charlie Kirk&#8217;s Character Just After His Death, Was Set to Speak at School He Was Killed at"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpodcaster-slandered-charlie-kirks-character-just-after-his-death-was-set-to-speak-at-school-he-was-killed-at%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2592759&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Utah Valley University canceled Sharon McMahon\u2019s commencement speech due to safety concerns after conservative groups objected to her remarks about Charlie Kirk. The university said it would proceed with the ceremony without a featured speaker,noting it would celebrate UVU\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graduation-ceremony-canceled-glass-door-shattered-as-furious-families-swarm-outside-venue\/\" title=\"Graduation ... Abandoned, Angered Families Cause Chaos Outside\">largest graduating class<\/a> to date,with more than 13,400 graduates,about one-third of whom are first-generation college students.<\/p>\n<p>Reaction to the decision was critical from conservative student groups adn TPUSA at UVU,which argued McMahon was an inappropriate choice and highlighted past posts thay contended disparaged Kirk. Republican Senator Mike Lee joined the critique, questioning the university\u2019s decision. McMahon had previously condemned Kirk\u2019s assassination in <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >social media posts<\/a> and later faced scrutiny over related remarks by her supporters; conservatives argued UVU should have kept her as a speaker.<\/p>\n<p>The article includes social-media posts and commentary surrounding the controversy, and it notes that TPUSA at UVU and McMahon did not instantly respond to requests for comment. The piece is published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Utah Valley University announced Thursday that author Sharon McMahon would not be speaking at its April 29 commencement ceremony following objections from conservative groups, citing safety concerns.<\/p>\n<p>The selection of author and podcaster McMahon drew strong objections from students and groups at UVU, where Charlie Kirk was shot and killed last year, over remarks she made after the assassination. In a brief Thursday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uvu.edu\/news\/2025\/update-on-2026-commencement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">release<\/a>, the university said they would proceed without a commencement speaker.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Due to increased safety concerns related to the speaker and in consultation with public safety professionals and Sharon McMahon, Utah Valley University has decided to proceed without a featured commencement speaker for this year&rsquo;s ceremony,&rdquo; the university said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We look forward to coming together as a community to celebrate UVU&rsquo;s largest graduating class in history, with more than 13,400 graduates, about one third of whom are the first in their families to graduate from college.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Sharon McMahon will no longer be speaking at UVU&rsquo;s commencement. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UPUDrOoBhd\">https:\/\/t.co\/UPUDrOoBhd<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ELkn4Vi5f0\">pic.twitter.com\/ELkn4Vi5f0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; TPUSAatUVU (@TPUSAatUVU) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TPUSAatUVU\/status\/2044843765110866287?\">April 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Sharon McMahon was an inappropriate speaker to begin with, and there are still better options available for this year&rsquo;s commencement speaker,&rdquo; Caleb Chilcutt, president of the UVU chapter of TPUSA, said in a Thursday statement <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TPUSAatUVU\/status\/2044843765110866287\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">posted<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Sharon McMahon posted a now-deleted series of out-of-context quotes from Charlie in an effort to tarnish his name and minimize the tragedy,&rdquo; Chilcutt said in a statement <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TPUSAatUVU\/status\/2042340596761997695\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">posted<\/a> April 9.<\/p>\n<p>While McMahon condemned the Kirk assassination in a social media <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=1351483436308527\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">post<\/a> on the day of Kirk&rsquo;s assassination, she took aim at Kirk in a Sept. 12 Instagram post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ksl.com\/article\/51484079\/sharon-mcmahons-team-responds-to-gop-backlash-over-scheduled-keynote-at-uvu-graduation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">archived<\/a> by KSL, a Salt Lake City-area TV station, claiming he pushed &ldquo;bigoted ideas.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s important to remember that the incredible tragedy of a public assassination does not erase the harm many experienced from his words, and the ensuing actions his followers took,&rdquo; McMahon posted.<\/p>\n<p>Conservatives drew attention to McMahon&rsquo;s post about Kirk almost immediately.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What if Charlie Kirk had been a beloved figure on the left, rather than among conservatives? And what if Sharon McMahon were a conservative&mdash;one who had defamed Charlie Kirk immediately after his horrific assassination at UVU? Would UVU have scheduled her to speak at commencement?&rdquo; Republican Sen. Mike Lee <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BasedMikeLee\/status\/2042843857700995419\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">posted<\/a> on X. &ldquo;Not in a million years. Not in ten million years. So why does UVU think this is okay? It&rsquo;s not.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>TPUSA and McMahon did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a paraphrase of the article excerpt you provided (excluding the code and unrelated UI elements):<\/p>\n<p>Utah Valley University announced on Thursday that Sharon McMahon would not deliver its April 29 commencement address after conservative groups raised safety concerns. McMahon\u2019s selection drew strong objections from UVU students and groups, particularly in light of remarks she made after the assassination of Charlie Kirk last year. In a brief release, the university said it would move forward without a featured commencement speaker, citing increased safety concerns and consulting with public safety professionals and McMahon. The university added that it would still celebrate UVU\u2019s largest graduating class ever, with more than 13,400 graduates, about one-third of whom are first-generation college students.<\/p>\n<p>A UVU TPUSA account shared coverage of the development, and one statement from TPUSA criticized McMahon as an inappropriate speaker and noted that she had posted a now-deleted series of quotes about Kirk intended to tarnish his reputation after his death. McMahon had condemned the Kirk assassination in a social post on the day it occurred, but a later September Instagram post (documented by a local outlet) suggested she had criticized Kirk and his supporters for promoting \u201cbigoted ideas.\u201d Conservatives quickly pointed to her post as evidence against her suitability for the ceremony. Republican Senator Mike Lee questioned UVU\u2019s decision on X, asking why the university would consider it acceptable.<\/p>\n<p>TPUSA and McMahon did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2592760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_7735.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[78135,78134,78133,70302,50738,78136],"class_list":["post-2592759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-campus-incident-2","tag-here-are-five-you-can-use-podcast","tag-i-cant-help-generate-tags-that-promote-unverified-or-defamatory-claims-about-a-real-person-if-you-want-neutral-tags","tag-media-ethics-2","tag-misinformation-2","tag-public-discussion-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_7735.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2592759"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2592763,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592759\/revisions\/2592763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2592760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2592759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2592759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2592759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}