Withers, who has over 4.3 million followers on TikTok and hundreds of thousands more on YouTube, often faced prominent political figures, including Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, who was assassinated on September 10 during a debate held at the Utah Valley University.
During his early years, Withers shared Kirk’s conservative ideals, but later on, his views shifted, embracing progressive causes and reshaping his platform around social justice and equality.
During his livestream, viewers saw a rare side of Withers—less the sharp political commentator, more a person deeply affected by the death of someone who had long been part of his journey, even as an opponent.
“I’m sad, distraught. In fact, I just cried in front of my livestream in front of 250,000 people,” Withers said to his followers. “Gun violence is always disgusting, always vile and always abhorrent.”
He then added, “I’m sorry that you guys have to see me like this. You know, I see a handful of people saying, ‘Maybe you should take a second’ in the stream. I kind of want you guys to see this. I want you to see how I feel because there are so many people in here right now and I want to, if I can, set the tone for what the public’s response to this is,” Withers said.
He sent his thoughts and prayers to Charlie Kirk’s family and those who witnessed Kirk being mercilessly shot.