Stephen A Smith Forced to Apologise for Charlie Kirk Blunder Live on ESPN

Stephen A Smith issued an immediate apology after accidentally referencing controversial political figure Charlie Kirk live on air.

On September 10, 2025, American right-wing political activist Kirk was fatally shot in the neck while speaking on stage at Utah Valley University.

Following the shooting, the circumstances of the 31-year-old's death and his political beliefs became a major talking point across the world.

Four months after the incident and the assassination of Kirk is still a major talking point in American politics, as both President Donald Trump and Vice-President J.D Vance had a close relationship with the controversial figure.

And now, Kirk's name made a surprise appearance during ESPN's coverage of a recent NFL match, as host Smith accidentally mentioned the political figure.

During Tuesday's episode of ESPN's First Take, Smith and his co-hosts were discussing the Houston Texans' dominant 30-6 playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While praising the Texans' players, Smith managed to confuse the players for political figures when attempting to give credit to Texans' wide receiver Christian Kirk for his role in the win.

However, instead of praising the star player, Smith accidentally gave the credit to the late Charlie Kirk in an uncomfortably awkward moment.

"We saw Charlie Kirk catch eight receptions for 144 yards," Smith said.

Before he could continue, First Take host Shae Peppler Cornette quickly stepped in to correct Smith and point out the mistake.

Smith, clearly embarrassed, immediately apologised, saying: 'I'm sorry, I apologise. Oh my God, I meant Christian Kirk."

"We saw Charlie Kirk catch 8 receptions for 144 yards…I apologize. Oh my God. Christian Kirk" – Stephen A. Smith pic.twitter.com/PPQXMjXFEr

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 13, 2026

But that didn't stop sports fans on social media from chipping in to laugh at the mistake, with one user on X writing: "Oh brother Stephen A what a mix up."

Another claimed: 'He saw his career flash before his eyes."

While one joked: "Hang it in the video section of the Louvre."

And it wasn't the first time that Smith has mentioned Kirk as he decided to speak out when American talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily pulled off the air for jokes regarding the death of Charlie Kirk.

"The only thing that I would say as it pertains to Jimmy Kimmel is, where was the joke?'" Smith asked on his SiriusXM show Straight Shooter."

"Because you're a late-night host — and obviously that has a comedic attachment to it. Where was the joke? Obviously, it wasn't anything funny about that."