A Good Morning Britain guest has sparked outrage among viewers after drawing a parallel between Charlie Kirk and a former KKK leader in a discussion about the commentator's death.
The American conservative influencer was fatally shot in the neck while speaking to students at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10.
Kirk, a renowned advocate of the 2nd Amendment, was discussing gun violence in the US when he was killed.
As the world talked about the tragedy, GMB's guest, Nels Abbey, has been branded as "shameful" for comparing the 31-year-old to a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan.
Joining regular hosts Kate Garraway and Ed Balls, Conservative politician Michael Gove and author Abbey discussed the shooting on Thursday morning.
Gove spoke first, noting, "He was a sort of Cicero for the TikTok age," adding that Kirk influenced many young voters to support Trump during the election period.
Abbey then chipped in to say, "Can I just say something? I don't believe he was a Cicero for the TikTok age, I believe he was a David Duke for the TikTok age."
After the host asked him to explain who he was talking about, the author shared, "He was the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan."
The remark drew an intense backlash on the internet as one X user penned, "Calling someone a KKK leader after being murdered. You shouldn't be on TV again, race baiting at its finest."
While another viewer noted, "Comparing Charlie Kirk to the leader of the KKK is not only deeply offensive and insensitive, it is also logically fallacious."
As of Thursday morning, a suspect has not been detained and the Utah authorities have stated that the shooter wore dark clothing and shot from a roof on campus from a distance away.