Hasan Piker Leads Cheering Crowd in Mocking Song About Charlie Kirk's Assassination

Hasan Piker stood on stage at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre on Friday, August 21, and sang a song written to honor a murdered man. He was mocking it.

The Twitch streamer, dressed in what has become his signature Mao-style jacket, led a packed crowd through "We Are Charlie Kirk," the AI-generated tribute ballad that circulated online just eight days after Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, according to Yahoo News. The song, styled like a Christian power ballad, includes lyrics like "He spoke the truth when the cost was high / He lived for Jesus, unafraid to die."

Piker sang along to the lyrics scrolling on a screen behind him: "We are Charlie Kirk, we carry the flame. We'll fight for the Gospel, we'll honor his name." His co-hosts on the podcast, Will Neff, QTCinderella, and AustinShow, laughed on stage, according to the Washington Examiner. The crowd cheered and sang along.

Afterward, Piker told the audience it was "the most surreal moment" of his life, according to Breitbart. He later posted a photo from the show captioned "carried the flame tn," a direct nod to the song's lyrics.

The Backlash

The clip spread fast. Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet called Piker's performance "pure, unadulterated evil," citing Proverbs 17:5 on X. Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross noted that Piker was scheduled to debate Kirk just days after the assassination and had previously said publicly that the shooting shook him. Ross called him "a trash human being" for now mocking it.

Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley, writing on his own site and syndicated by ZeroHedge, said what disturbed him wasn't just Piker's performance but "the ecstasy of the crowd in relishing the death of someone with opposing views." Turley argued the moment reflects what he's called an "age of rage" in American politics, one he says spans both sides but found a new low here.

Democratic strategist Jon Reinish also condemned Piker, calling him "repugnant" and "wrong for the Democratic Party," according to the Washington Examiner. Piker has hosted a string of sitting Democratic officials on his show, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, Rep. Ro Khanna, and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Piker's Response

Piker did not walk it back. In a follow-up stream reported by the Times of India, he said he'd shown more respect toward Charlie Kirk than Erika Kirk, Kirk's widow, had, and dismissed Republicans he accused of exploiting Kirk's death politically, calling them "goddamn grifters."

He also framed the backlash as manufactured and repetitive, saying, according to the Times of India transcript: "the fake outrage about Charlie Kirk shit, we've been doing it like three times a week, 30k people for 10 months. It's not just me doing it. Everyone does it." Piker's point is that mocking Kirk online has been a recurring meme cycle for nearly a year, not something he invented Friday night, and that singling him out ignores how widespread the joke already was.

The song itself has circulated as mockery material since shortly after Kirk's death, according to Fox News reporting cited by multiple outlets. Piker reposted another account arguing that "the same conservatives crying over Hasan singing a meme song were openly celebrating the murder of American citizens," a reference to instances of celebration on the right over other killings, though no specific examples were named in that post.

Scale and Setting

What separates this from a meme scrolling past on a phone screen is the venue and audience size. A live, ticketed comedy show with a professional PA system, a lit screen with lyrics, and thousands of paying attendees singing along in unison differs substantially from online circulation. Fox News reported the song has been used in memes targeting Kirk for months. Piker turning it into a live sing-along on stage, roughly three weeks before Turning Point USA's planned September 10 memorial at Utah Valley University, prompted the fresh wave of coverage.

Piker has a documented history of inflammatory statements, including past remarks that America "deserved" the September 11 attacks and a description of Orthodox Jews as "inbred," both cited by the Washington Examiner. Democratic figures like Reinish and commentator Mark Halperin have publicly pressed Democrats to distance themselves from him, even as elected Democrats continue appearing on his show.

Piker has not deleted the caption or apologized. No advertiser or platform action against him has been reported. Turning Point USA's "Freedom Built to Last" memorial at Utah Valley University is scheduled for September 10, 2026, marking one year since Kirk's death, according to Newsmax reporting cited by PJ Media. Whether the renewed controversy affects turnout, media coverage, or Democratic officials' willingness to keep booking Piker's podcast remains an open question heading into that anniversary.