(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Washington Post fired embattled columnist Karen Attiah over “documented performance problems”, according to her termination letter, even as she claimed the move was retaliation for her comments about Charlie Kirk.
Attiah announced her ouster in a Substack post Monday, insisting she was targeted for speaking “out against political violence, racial double standards, and America’s apathy toward guns.”
She also resurfaced a Bluesky post where she attributed a fabricated quote to Kirk, falsely claiming he once said: “Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously. You have to go steal a white person’s slot.”
Fired Washington Post columnist @KarenAttiah: "My only direct reference to Kirk was his own words on record."
Except, what she claims to be a direct quote is not even remotely close to being true. https://t.co/oKgINoAMsG pic.twitter.com/MEAmDkSTfJ
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 15, 2025
Several left-leaning outlets ran headlines claiming she was fired solely because of her comments about Kirk.
But her termination letter shows the Kirk remarks were only the final straw on top of a pattern of problems..
“The poor judgment exhibited by your public comments regarding Charlie Kirk arise against the backdrop of documented performance concerns, which have been raised with you,” the letter stated.
“Given these concerns, and in light of your recent unacceptable Bluesky posts, we cannot tolerate the risk your performance poses to The Post,” it added.
Oliver Darcy has obtained the termination letter sent to Karen Attiah by the Washington Posts’s HR chief.
The letter specifically mentions her postings about “white men” violating Washington Post policy.
Oliver’s Newsletter: https://t.co/Rb7lcmqdJC
Karen’s Substack… pic.twitter.com/9azPBwpuqG
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) September 16, 2025
While the letter did not the exact performance issues, it undermines Attiah’s media narrative that she was targeted simply for speaking out against violence.
She did not immediately respond to Headline USA’s request for comment sent via her online course website.
