Antonio Brown tossed out a grim joke about Charlie Kirk’s assassination during a livestream football game with Tekashi 6ix9ine and YouTuber Adin Ross, drawing conservative backlash.
While running routes outside 6ix9ine’s Florida home, Antonio Brown cracked, “No one’s gonna Charlie Kirk me, right,” a reference to the conservative commentator, who was shot and killed during a campus debate at Utah Valley University.
The remark landed poorly, especially given the politically charged fallout that followed Kirk’s death. The livestream, which took place amid heightened security following a break-in at 6ix9ine’s residence, featured both men taking lie detector tests.
“Evidently these people don’t believe their words will come back to them,” one user said. Another fumed: “Charlie Kirk was a better man than his jerk. His heart is black. It’s unreal just how low people will go nowadays.”
Brown failed when asked if he regretted his infamous shirtless exit from MetLife Stadium in 2022. He did, however, pass when expressing affection for his former Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Ben Roethlisberger.
Brown’s legal troubles began months earlier in May, when he allegedly fired a gun at Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu during a boxing event hosted by Ross in Miami.
Nantambu, who gained notoriety for waving a Palestinian flag during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show, was later arrested in June for resisting an officer and disrupting a public event.
Video from the Miami incident appears to show Brown in a heated parking lot confrontation before gunfire scattered the crowd.
Authorities issued a warrant for Brown’s arrest, leading to his extradition from Dubai. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder with a deadly weapon.
Meanwhile, 6ix9ine is staring down his own legal problems.
He’s scheduled to be sentenced on December 5, 2025, after violating probation terms tied to his 2018 racketeering case. Federal prosecutors want him behind bars for several months, citing repeated violations.
The backlash against others mocking Kirk’s assassination has been widespread. Some people lost jobs at airlines, schools and hospitals over social media posts mocking the tragedy.