ABC News reporter Matt Gutman has issued an apology for his bizarre comments about Tyler Robinson’s relationship with his trans-identified partner.
Gutman on Tuesday discussed Robinson, who is suspected of assassinating Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk on September 10. During his report, he referenced a recently released text message exchange between Robinson and his boyfriend, Lance Twiggs, in which he discussed how he planned the assassination. The reporter characterized Robinson’s messages to him as “touching.”
In a Wednesday post on X, Gutman acknowledged his error. “Yesterday I tried to underscore the jarring contrast between this cold-blooded assassination of Charlie Kirk - a man who dedicated his life to public dialogue - and the personal, disturbing texts read aloud by the Utah County Attorney at the press conference,” he wrote.
In a follow-up post, he said, “I deeply regret that my words did not make that clear.”
“But let there be zero doubt here: I unequivocally condemn this horrific crime and the pain it caused Charlie Kirk's family, those who were forced to witness it at UVU, and the millions of people he inspired,” he added.
1. Yesterday I tried to underscore the jarring contrast between this cold blooded assassination of Charlie Kirk - a man who dedicated his life to public dialogue - and the personal, disturbing texts read aloud by the Utah County Attorney at the press conference.
— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) September 17, 2025
2. I deeply regret that my words did not make that clear.
— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) September 17, 2025
But let there be zero doubt here: I unequivocally condemn this horrific crime and the pain it caused Charlie Kirk's family, those who were forced to witness it at UVU, and the millions of people he inspired.
Gutman came under fire after he described the text message exchange as “a very intimate portrait into this relationship between the suspect’s rommate and the suspect himself.” He referred to Robinson referring to Twiggs as “my love” and saying, “I want to protect you, my love.”
“Here we see two lovebirds on a stroll with their dogs. What a touching scene of love.” Matt Gutman if he was a reporter in the 1940’s. pic.twitter.com/QZwBl1VSiM
— Chris Andrews (@ChrisAn41996507) September 16, 2025
Instead of focusing primarily on the murder, Gutman honed in on the emotional tone of the messages, calling the conversation “very touching in a way that I think many of us didn’t expect.”
Even after acknowledging the horrific nature of Kirk’s death, he continued romanticizing the relationship. He said Robinson’s messages were “so fulsome, so robust, so apparently, allegedly self-incriminating, and yet, on the other hand, so touching.”
One moment, it was a discussion about a politically-motivated murder. The next, it was a Hallmark movie. It was like trying to turn “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” into “The Notebook.” He deserved every bit of ridicule he received.