Glen Powell’s recent comments on a podcast have sparked a debate among his fans, with some interpreting his words as an inappropriate reference to the shooting of political activist Charlie Kirk.
During his appearance on the Therapuss podcast with Jake Shane, Powell recounted an encounter with a celebrity at a high-profile event. This celebrity had faced controversy and was at risk of being ‘canceled’. Despite being a fan of their work, Powell was hesitant to be photographed with them, saying, “I was at a party and there was somebody that had basically been on the ropes in terms of sort of getting canceled… It was one of those Hollywood parties where it’s like there are cameras and press and all that stuff,” he explained.
“And this person had made a lot of, some of my favorite movies, and I was like, ‘oh, like, this is great.’ He came up and he said, ‘nice to meet you’ so I was like, ‘oh, big fan!’ and then a photographer said, ‘hey, can we take a picture of the two of you guys?’
“And this person was recently canceled. And it was not good. I was a fan of their work, but not a fan of their choices so I was just kind of being nice.
“But then when they want to take a picture with you, I realized very quickly how like, I was like, ‘oh, I don’t know if it’s a good idea’.
“He clearly clocked that I was like, ‘oh, this is probably not a good idea.’ And I realized this guy, his face is toxic, you know, like going out to the world. Like people are having a visceral reaction to this person in terms of the bad choices they’ve made.”
Powell drew parallels between this situation and his role in the show Chad Powers, where he portrays Russ Holliday.
“And the character that I play in Chad, it’s like Russ Holliday is a guy that just made a mistake, right?” he continued.
“He’s not a bad guy. Some of these other people that get canceled… they should lie where they’re shot.
“But like with Russ, he made a mistake. He acted poorly about it and the world kind of didn’t forgive him and he couldn’t forgive himself. And what I found to be really interesting is that in today’s day and age.”
The discussion has led to speculation about whether Powell was alluding to Kirk, though opinions are mixed.
One commenter expressed disappointment: “I am no longer looking forward to Running Man and will never spend a dime on anything containing Glen Powell.”
Another observed: “Yeah it’s the smirk and giggle afterwards that does it. If they didn’t do that and moved on I would have said it had nothing to do with Kirk.”
However, some defended Powell, saying: “Lie where you’re shot is being used as a saying.”
Another supporter remarked: “So we have a vague phrase coming out of his mouth with no context of what he’s talking about and you assume the worst?”
Charlie Kirk was tragically shot on September 10 during a speech at a university in Utah. Tyler Robinson, 22, faces charges including aggravated murder, but has not yet been convicted.
Prosecutors have announced their intent to seek the death penalty for the suspect in this case.
Efforts have been made to contact Powell’s representative for further comment.