A sombre moment unfolded during the recording of The Joe Rogan Experience as the UFC commentator and actor Charlie Sheen learned of the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.
The news broke mid-conversation while the two were recording an episode, prompting an immediate and emotional reaction. Rogan, visibly stunned, paused and said: “Should we bring this up? I guess we have to. So this has just happened. We just found out that Charlie Kirk got shot,” clutching his head in disbelief.
Sheen responded bluntly: “That’s f***ing awful.”
At the time, initial reports were still unclear. Rogan asked his producer, Jamie Vernon, whether Kirk had survived. Vernon replied: “No, I don’t think so.” Confusion lingered until another update confirmed the tragic news.
“One of the guys out there just said it was confirmed that he was dead,” Rogan relayed moments later.
The shooting occurred on Tuesday, 10 September, at an event at Utah Valley University where Kirk was speaking. According to early reports, a bullet struck him in the neck. Authorities believe the shooter had taken up a position on a rooftop and fired a single round from a high-powered rifle. CCTV footage then showed the suspected assailant jumping down from the roof and fleeing the scene.
The FBI has released images of a person of interest, and a manhunt remains ongoing.
Back in the podcast studio, Sheen reflected on the gravity of what had happened: “Murdered for having a different opinion from somebody else. Different ideology from somebody else… beliefs that didn’t align.”
Rogan seemed at a loss for words, repeating: “Yeah. Yeah.” He admitted he didn’t yet know who was responsible but was clearly shaken by the implications.
Eventually, confirmation of Kirk’s death came through on air, prompting Sheen to add: “Rest in peace, f***, he didn’t deserve that, nobody deserves that.”
He later remarked on the ever-present risk that public figures might face violence due to their visibility: “It’s in the back of our minds,” he said, referencing his own experiences making public appearances.
Rogan warned of the wider danger: “There’s going to be a lot of people celebrating this,” he said. “It’s so scary. It’s so dangerous too, to celebrate or to in any way encourage this kind of behaviour from human beings.”
He defended Kirk as a person who, despite being controversial, was committed to dialogue: “He’s not a violent guy, he’s talking, talking to people on college campuses. He wasn’t even particularly rude. He tried to be pretty reasonable with people.”
Rogan also noted: “He’s a very intelligent guy whether you agree with him or don’t, and there’s a lot of stuff I didn’t agree with him on, that’s fine. You’re allowed to disagree with people without celebrating the fact that he got shot.”
He called for a return to respectful public discourse: “What you’re supposed to do with a guy like that if you’re opposing him is debate him, have a conversation where your argument is more compelling than his. That’s what people should be celebrating—discourse, we used to do that.”
The shocking death of Charlie Kirk, 31, has left many in the public sphere grappling with the implications. The full investigation is still unfolding, but for millions who watched the podcast, the moment Joe Rogan and Charlie Sheen received the news live has already become a powerful — and chilling — snapshot of a deeply divided time.
Featured image credit: YouTube/TheJoeRoganExperience (Screenshot)
