Daisy Keech Ursurps Sympathy and Sparks Outrage After Mourning Charlie Kirk

14 September 2025

Yerger posted a response only re-emphasizing her original stance in the face of the hate. Instagram / Daisy Keech Yerger

Fitness influencer and Hype House co-founder Daisy Keech Yerger found herself at the center of a storm online after she shared multiple posts mourning Charlie Kirk following his assassination. With over 5.1 million Instagram followers she expressed heartbreak that such a man was taken at such a moment and extended love and sympathy to his family while asking her audience to pray for them. She called the event “so unfair” and emphasized Kirk’s impact on young people.

Her intent seemed to be one of compassion but the reaction was harsh and immediate. Some followers accused her of showing “selective empathy” citing her silence in the past on major social issues such as the murder of George Floyd or the Israel-Hamas war. They asked why she had spoken up now and not before and questioned whether her message was sincere or simply performative. One follower expressed disappointment: “you lost me with that bulls-t very out of touch w reality.” Others called out what they saw as sudden religious language pointing to spiritual references Yerger made without prior precedent in her content.

Yerger did not stay silent in the face of criticism. She pushed back in comments and additional posts defending her grief and condemning the hate she was receiving. She said she generally avoids politics due to its divisiveness but could not ignore what she saw as the human tragedy of a father and husband being murdered. She wrote “all this evil makes me sick.” She urged compassion over judgment, encouraged her critics to take a moment to consider the pain of loss and asked that kindness prevail over division. She also suggested that if those offended by her perspective could not respect it they should unfollow rather than lash out.

Through the barrage of negative feedback which included scorn, accusations of hypocrisy and even personal attacks Yerger’s follower count did not collapse. In fact her audience remained mostly intact in the aftermath with many supporters, including some of Kirk’s own followers, rallying to her side. They commended her for speaking up, for expressing empathy, and for standing firm amid the backlash.

This controversy reveals how fraught public declarations of mourning have become in a polarized world. Moments that might once have been universally met with compassion are now parsed for political alignment, past silence, or perceived inconsistency. Followers appear to expect a full resume of political statements before allowing someone to be heard about loss, grief, or tragedy. Keech’s posts suggest that even death does not insulate someone from demands for perfect alignment or ideological purity.

The situation also raises questions about the role social media influencers play when tragedy strikes. By being public figures with large platforms their actions are magnified. A post of mourning becomes more than a personal feeling. It becomes a statement. And with that statement comes scrutiny. In Yerger’s case that meant being asked to account not only for what she said now but for what she did not say in the past.

Yerger’s response appealed to faith as a bulwark against cruelty. She used spiritual language and prayer in urging critics to reflect rather than attack. For her the issue was not political debate but human empathy. One statement she made that stood out was that she did not want this to be about validating opinions but about honoring life, kindness, and love even amid grief.

Even as she defended herself she appeared aware that she was under a microscope. She apologized if her messages caused misunderstanding, but stood by her right to express sympathy. She also seemed to understand that her position as an influencer meant her grief would be seen by many and judged by many as well.

This episode speaks to a wider phenomenon: how social media culture now often considers the past as proof for present sincerity. Silence is held against those who speak up when major events occur. Empathy is measured not just by what is shared but by what has been shared before. And consistency becomes its own burden.

For Daisy Keech Yerger this may be just another moment of controversy, but it underscores something about how public mourning unfolds now. It underscores how grief is no longer simple, how kindness can be contested, and how speaking from the heart can still invite accusations. It is a signpost of how divided and vigilant social media audiences have become—how even expressions of loss are filtered through political judgment, history, and moral expectation.