Coldplay frontman Chris Martin asked the crowd during a London gig to “send love” to the family of late right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was shot dead on Wednesday (10 September) at the age of 31, while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. A suspect, Tyler Robinson, has since been taken into police custody on suspicion of capital murder, weapons and obstruction offences.
Martin and his band were performing at London’s Wembley Stadium as part of a record-breaking world tour titled Music of the Spheres.
“For the final time for a few years in London, let’s raise our hands like this,” the British singer told the crowd, raising his hands over his head, “and send love anywhere you want to send it in the world.
“There are so many places that might need it today,” he continued. “So here it comes from London. You can send this to your brother or your sister. You can send it to the families of people who’ve been going through terrible stuff.”
He then mentioned Kirk by name, stating that the crowd could send love to those they “disagree with”.
“You can send it to Charlie Kirk’s family,” he added. “You can send it to anybody’s family. You can send it to people you disagree with, but you send them love anyway. You can send it to peaceful people in the Middle East, in Ukraine and Russia.”
Throughout his life, Kirk was a controversial figure thanks to his political stances, which included hard-right views on immigration and gun control.
Actor Chris Pratt, YouTuber Jake Paul and TV host Piers Morgan were among the celebrities to share tributes to Kirk following the assassination, with Morgan writing on X/Twitter that the shooting was “an appalling assault on free speech and democracy”.
“Charlie always welcomed debate, with anyone,” he added. “This is disgusting, and heart-breaking. RIP Charlie.”
Others, however, have continued to condemn Kirk’s divisive political views in the wake of his death.
During his life, Kirk had in fact made his opinions on Coldplay publicly known, stating on his TV show: “I would rather be caught dead than be at a Coldplay concert. I would rather go to a WNBA game than go to a Coldplay concert. Couldn’t think of something more boring and banal and a waste of time. But it’s fine, it’s a free society, you can do whatever you want.”
