A leading political analyst is blasting – and trying to figure out – Stephen King for his ill-thought-out false claim about Charlie Kirk.
In UK-based magazine The Spectator, Alexander Larman is suggesting that the 77-year-old King is – to coin a phrase – beyond his prime.
Put more bluntly, may be losing his mind, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
King can blame his second newspaper of choice, the Portland Press Herald, which Sept. 16 called Kirk “a racist who plugged an anti-gay, anti-women agenda” during a recent trip to Old Orchard Beach.
“King feels too much and thinks too little,” Larman concludes. He says King is known for saying controversial things but that this latest one is really over the top.
Larman can’t figure out how to explain King’s insane, now-viral claim that Kirk once called for stoning gay people to death.
Despite King’s quickly apologizing for making the bogus claim, Larman says it may be too late to prevent “reputational damage.”
“The latest film of one of his works, Francis Lawrence’s horror-thriller The Long Walk, opened in American cinemas this weekend and has been met with almost unanimously rave reviews, many of which have called it a more socially aware, darker Hunger Games,” Larman writes.
“He recently published a Maurice Sendak-illustrated retelling of Hansel and Gretel, which brings his trademark dark and macabre sensibilities to the age-old fairytale. And his last novel, Never Flinch, was, naturally, a bestseller – as all his books have been since he first published Carrie, over half a century ago in 1974.”
So why, Larman wonders, did King “for absolutely no reason decided to offer his opinions about the Charlie Kirk saga.”
If The Long Walk suddenly starts failing to meet box-office expectations, King may finally get the message to keep his often-open mouth shut for once and for all, Larman says.
“As his timely dystopian picture arrives in cinemas to shock and provoke audiences, even those who might be well disposed toward this ornery, ever-controversial author might hope that he’ll engage his considerable intellect before pressing ‘send’ next time.”
A guy used to making millions out of his novels may realize the extent of his mistake once he fails to see a check the size he expected.
In other words, follow the money. Size matters.
The Spectator was established in 1828 in Britain and is the oldest magazine in the English language.
“Our writers hold no party line,” the outlet says on its website. Their only allegiance is to clarity of thought, elegance of expression and independence of opinion. We do not strive for impartiality – our motto is ‘firm, but unfair’ – but for originality and style.”
