Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk is being accused of editing earplugs out of a selfie after being mocked as a “beta male.”
The incident began on Sunday when Kirk shared a photograph to X of himself and his wife at the Oregon Ducks’ victory over Ohio State University on Saturday.
“GO DUCKS,” Kirk wrote.
But eagle-eyed X users were quick to notice that Kirk was wearing ear protection.
In response, users flooded Kirk’s post with comments calling him everything from a “cuck” to a “baby.”
“Ear plugs???” one user asked.
Others pointed out the irony in the fact that conservatives such as Kirk often refer to liberal men as “beta males” or unmasculine.
“I’m sorry, ear plugs at a college football game?” another asked. “And you want to talk about masculinity?!?”
Although the vast majority of responses mocked Kirk, a small number appeared to agree with his choice.
“Hate to defend the worst person ever, but… Autzen stadium has had SPLs measured over 125 dB…. like, regularly over 110 dB…” one user noted. “ESPN has made TV content about how loud that place gets… Charlie is actually smart for wearing ear plugs… you should, too.”
Kirk did not respond on X to the mockery, but it appears he may have taken the criticism seriously.
Just one day later, Kirk posted what appears to be the exact same picture to his Instagram account. While everything else in the photo matches up, there was one small difference: the ear plugs were gone.
“Another year older and an Oregon win this weekend to celebrate,” Kirk wrote. “Now let’s save the country.”
And at least one user back on X noticed as well, accusing Kirk of photoshopping the image.
“Dude edited out his earplugs for the instagram. Not good for the movement,” they wrote.
As of Tuesday, Kirk has not mentioned the missing earplugs on either X or Instagram.
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