TMZ Apologizes for Laughter During Charlie Kirk Livestream

TMZ put out a live stream about the passing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, when the broadcast took place and you could hear laughter and applause in the background, just seconds before editors Harvey Levin and Charles Latibeaudiere said Kirk had died. Many viewed the laughter and applause as sounding like celebration of the tragedy.The matter drew attention as it occurred in reporting the shooting incident at Utah Valley University that cost Kirk's life. Many viewers mentioned the timing made the laughter even worse.

TMZ Explanation of the Incident

TMZ specified that the laughter and applause was not connected to the announcement of Kirk's death:

• the staff in another part of the building were reacting to a live car chase in Los Angeles
• The newsroom acknowledged the sound was unfortunate and ill-timed.
• TMZ stated the responses were not intentional and were certainly not mistaken to be notifications to the tragic news.

TMZ issues clarification and apology over “tone death laughter” that could be heard in the background during livestream reporting about Charlie Kirk.

“As we were reporting the asssasination of Charlie Kirk there were some people in the back room away from our news desk who were… pic.twitter.com/kGOiCWTKOo

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) September 11, 2025

How Social Media Responded

• Highlights of the livestream rapidly spread across Twitter and TikTok.
• Many criticized TMZ for being insensitive even if the laughter was unrelated.
• Some defended TMZ and acknowledged that mistakes are made during live reporting.

What This Incident Means for TMZ and Its Reputation

• Localized incidents can chip away at the public's trust in news organizations. 
• Transparency and an explanation are important and may help, but are not going to fix perceptions that physicians are incompetent.
• It is important for news organizations to play it safe when they are covering potentially sensitive issues, such as the death of a person or shootings. 
• Apologize quickly and authentically, is fine, but the perception of the public is what is most important.

Public Reactions

The livestream incident quickly generated a firestorm of activity on social media. Many of the viewers were outraged and felt that the laughter and applause were “insensitive” and “tone-deaf” by TMZ, especially given the gravity of Charlie Kirk's death. Other social media commentators noted mistakes are made when reporting live and defended TMZ's lack of intent. As with many social media conversations, there was a distinct divide of opinion among the social media users who commented--for some, this was a harmless error; for others, it represented a failure of professionalism and illustrated just how easily feel about an incident and what we learn can readily change in accordance with context and timing.

Lessons for Viewers and Media Consumers

The event serves as another reminder to audiences about how quickly misinformation or misperceiving someone else's reaction can happen; just because the commentators were laughing in the background does not mean that it was unintentional; and especially not in the context of a sensitive news event. For media consumer use in the future, this also means we should all take the time to look for and ask for official statements before interpreting what has happened, and realize that live broadcasts can have technical or timing errors. This incident indicates that both newsrooms and audiences alike should exercise discernment and caution with live coverage.