On Sept. 10, the news broke the conservative activist Charlie Kirk had been shot during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. Video of the horrific incident quickly went viral. It was later confirmed that Kirk had died from a gunshot aimed by an assassin.
Kirk’s assassination sparked a national debate about political violence and saw reactions ranging from shock and sadness while others celebrated. 11 days after the tragic event, a memorial service honoring Kirk was held in Arizona. Thousands of people attended, including UFC CEO Dana White.
During the Dana White’s Contender Series Post-Fight Press Conference on Tuesday, White explained why he felt obligated to attend the memorial event.
“Obviously, the Charlie Kirk thing affected a lot of people, including my daughter,” White said. “I had my daughter with me. She goes to college down in Florida. She really took the Charlie Kirk thing hard. She came with me. I don’t really know how to describe what it was like.”
“I felt like I had to be there.”
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White spoke at length about Kirk’s assassination during a recent appearance on Logan Paul’s podcast.
“I had just woke up and my phone was blowing up,” White said. “I was f***ing blown away, especially when the video footage started coming out.”
“I was actually surprised by how impacted my kids were, you know. My kids used to watch him on social media. My daughter, she’s 19, she’s in college, and she’s been just destroyed over this thing.”