Booker Prize-winning author Sir Salman Rushdie has described the murder of conservative US activist Charlie Kirk as a direct result of America's deeply entrenched gun culture.
An 'Appalling Act' in a Gun-Saturated Society
In an exclusive interview with Sky News lead presenter Wilfred Frost, Sir Salman condemned the killing as an "appalling act of violence." He argued, however, that such tragedies are an inevitable outcome of a national obsession with firearms.
"But it seems to me to be a characteristic or a consequence of America's terrifying gun culture," the renowned author stated. "When you have a situation where there are more guns in private ownership than there are people in the country, I mean, guns are everywhere."
Rushdie, who survived a near-fatal attack himself in 2022, elaborated on the cultural normalisation of weapons. He pointed to children being taught to use guns and firearms stored insecurely at home as factors creating a society where gun violence is a daily occurrence.
Survivor's Perspective on Violence and Recovery
The Indian-British author speaks from profound personal experience. In August 2022, he was attacked by Hadi Matar at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. Matar stabbed Rushdie repeatedly in the head, neck, torso, and left hand.
The assault caused severe damage to his liver and intestines and left him blind in one eye. Matar was sentenced to 25 years in prison in May 2025. Rushdie documented the ordeal and his long recovery in his 2024 memoir, Knife.
When asked about the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump, Rushdie offered a brief response: "Well, I guess I'm happy that it failed. Beyond that, I don't have a lot to say about it."
On AI, Creativity, and the Return to Fiction
Now promoting his new work of fiction, Eleventh Hour, Rushdie also shared his sceptical views on artificial intelligence's creative potential. He dismissed the idea that AI could replicate human artistry.
"The couple of little experiments that I've carried out with AI suggest to me that at least this far, it doesn't have a sense of humour. And it's not original," he told Sky News. "What it can do is to duplicate things that have been fed into it. But good art is original, and I don't think that AI has an original bone in its body."
The full interview, which includes Rushdie's comments on book bans and freedom of speech in the United States, was broadcast on Mornings with Ridge and Frost on Sky News.
