Fox News Host Apologizes After His Suggestion That Homeless People Be Euthanized Sparks Outrage

Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade was criticized for suggesting that homeless people with mental health issues get "involuntary lethal injection" after the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in North Carolina—and was swiftly condemned for an insincere apology several days after the fact as many are calling for Fox News to terminate his contract.

Zarutska was stabbed to death at the East/West Boulevard station on the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte last month; her killer, a homeless man with a history of mental health issues, has since been charged with first-degree murder.

During a discussion with co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Lawrence Jones about the killing, Jones claimed that since many homeless and mentally ill individuals refuse assistance, they should be jailed.

At that point, Kilmeade said:

“Or, uh, involuntary lethal injection. Or something. Just kill ’em.”

You can hear his remarks in the video below.

The backlash was immediate.

Kilmeade later posted the following video apology to his official X account:

"In the morning we were discussing the murder of Irina Zarutska in Charlotte, North Carolina, [and] how to stop these kinds of attacks by homeless mentally ill assailants, including institutionalizing or jailing such people so they cannot attack again."

"During that discussion I wrongly said they should get lethal injections. I apologize for that extremely callous remark. I'm obviously aware that not all mentally ill homeless people act as the perpetrator did in North Carolina and that so many homeless people deserve empathy and compassion."

You can hear his apology in the video below.

But Kilmeade's words rang hollow and many swiftly condemned his actions.

President Donald Trump has used Zarutska's murder to justify his ongoing nationwide crime crackdown.

In remarks last week, he referred to her killer as "a madman" and "a lunatic" and said that "when you have horrible killings, you have to take horrible actions."

The White House later published a video of Trump calling Zarutska's killer a "deranged monster" and adding that "the people of our country need to insist on protection, safety, LAW & ORDER." He also claimed liberal cities like Chicago are making crime around the country worse—a statement at odds with existing data.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also stuck to the script by blaming "Democrat politicians, liberal judges, and weak prosecutors" for Zarutska's murder, echoing similar statements she's made in defense of the president's plans to send troops into liberal cities.