The Hoax

Charlie Kirk Said Black Women Do Not Have The Brain Processing Power To Be Taken Seriously

Charlie Kirk and Affirmative Action

On July 13, 2023, Charlie Kirk, on his podcast, discussed the recent Supreme Court decision to end affirmative action in college admissions, focusing his criticism on four prominent Black women—Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Joy Reid, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Michelle Obama. Kirk claimed these women were “affirmative-action picks” who took opportunities from others, suggesting they benefited from policies that prioritized their race and gender over merit. His remarks, made around the 53-minute mark, framed their professional success as a direct result of affirmative action, sparking significant attention and controversy online.

Charlie Kirk and the Brain Processing Power Comment

On his July 13, 2023 podcast, Charlie Kirk made controversial remarks about Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Joy Reid, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Michelle Obama, stating they “do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously” in the context of their professional achievements and affirmative action. These comments were delivered approximately 53 minutes into the episode, and were part of Kirk’s critique of affirmative action policies following the Supreme Court’s ruling to end their use in higher education. The remarks gained traction on social media, particularly after a September 10, 2025, Bluesky post by former Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah highlighted them, prompting widespread discussion.

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What Really Happened

Selective Reporting And A Fake Quote Was Used to Misrepresent Charlie Kirk’s Comments as Racist

Contrary to the narrative amplified by a September 10, 2025, Bluesky post by Karen Attiah, Charlie Kirk did not claim that all Black women were unqualified beneficiaries of affirmative action. This was a fake quote. On his July 13, 2023 podcast, approximately 53 minutes in, Kirk specifically criticized four prominent Black women—Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Joy Reid, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Michelle Obama—following the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action in college admissions. He stated in his podcast near the 53 minute mark:

“If we would have said three weeks ago […] that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative-action picks, we would have been called racist. But now they’re comin’ out and they’re saying it for us! They’re comin’ out and they’re saying, ‘I’m only here because of affirmative action.’ Yeah, we know. You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.”

Joy Reid stated this as true on MSNBC in 2023:

Rep. Sheila Jackson stated this as true in 2023:

In Summary

By selectively quoting Kirk and omitting the specific context of his targeting only four individuals, the framing of Kirk as a racist in this instance leveraged out-of-context quoting and selective reporting to frame Kirk as racist. This misrepresentation, which ignored Kirk’s focus on these women’s professional achievements in the context of affirmative action, as supported by statements from Reid and Jackson Lee acknowledging their own experiences with affirmative action, violated journalistic standards like those in the New York Times and AP Style Book that demand accurate quotations, fueling a misleading narrative that exaggerated Kirk’s remarks into a generalized attack on Black women.

It’s a fact that affirmative action discriminates against Asians/Whites while benefiting Blacks/Hispanics. Charlie Kirk observing that fact does not make him racist. It is reasonable to argue that Kirk could have selected his words more carefully, but to suggest he was making a blanket statement against all Black women is inaccurate.

See Hoaxology to learn more about the techniques used to create hoaxes.