EXCLUSIVE: Oxford Union President wants to make amends for insensitive Charlie Kirk comments.

In June, George Abaraonye rose to uni fame as the Oxford student who challenged Charlie Kirk about ‘toxic masculinity’. Just a few months later, his name and face was plastered all over digital and broadcast media as the Oxford Union President who ‘celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s death.

What happened?

Moments after news broke that Kirk had been shot at one of his classic campus debate events, Abaraonye took to Instagram to post a public note ‘Charlie Kirk got shot LOOOOL’ and in a private group chat, ‘Charlie Kirk got shot let’s f——ing go’. After seeing the shockingly gruesome video of Kirk’s execution, Abaraonye deleted his comments. But by this point, screenshots had already been taken that would soon be leaked to the press.

In our interview, George tells his side of the story, including:

- those notorious leaked messages

- the campaign for his resignation from the Union and expulsion from Oxford, pushed by ex-PM Liz Truss and Elon Musk

- that viral Union video which has led to accusations of Abaraonye calling for violent revolution

- death threats and racist abuse

- what really goes on in the Oxford Union

- his apology and accusations of doubling down

- his hopes for making amends

There are going to be some people watching this interview who think we’ve gone too soft on George. The question I would ask is, ‘Where else do you see conversations like this?’ – Discourse where a young man is held accountable, reflects on his actions and charts a path for his personal growth.

Honestly, when I look at George, I see a 20-year-old lad learning on the job about the weight and power of language in our febrile political environment. He found out in no uncertain terms just how much political capital he had, while being, like us all, a work in progress.

When Jovan Owusu-Nepaul and I started What’s Left - these were the exact conversations we had in mind. The ones that democracy are all about.

Oh btw, thank you for 100k followers x

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

06:08 Why George Debated Charlie Kirk

15:30 Labelling People ‘Fascists’

26:43 George’s Journey Through the Oxford Union

36:20 Reacting To Kirk’s Death

46:33 George’s Apology + Reaction

55:15 Dealing with Radicalised Online Abuse

1:04:00 Free Speech vs. Campaign for George’s Resignation

1:13:33 How To Defuse Political Anger

1:21:10 Immigration, Labour + Community

1:30:10 Building A Great Britain

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