Just hours after storming off the stage during his “Rittenhouse Recap” event at the University of Memphis on Wednesday, Kyle Rittenhouse is addressing the backlash and the students who gave him hell.
The 21-year-old was invited to the campus by the school’s Turning Point USA chapter to speak about gun rights and the Black Lives Matter movement, but his event was cut short after dozens of students turned up in protest.
He stormed off the stage after audience members drowned out his speech and confronted him with some hardball questions during the Q&A portion.
Several Black students staged a walkout during the event.
Hundreds of protesters also stood outside the venue where Rittenhouse spoke. Campus police and state troopers were also present.
Rittenhouse admitted, while stroking his support dog in a post-event video shared by Turning Point USA on X, that he had reservations leading up to the event. “Honestly, I was a bit nervous going in there. I was scared,” Rittenhouse shared. He even called a close friend who prayed for him.
“I knew I was going into a hostile environment and I knew I was most likely going to get booed off the stage, so my plan for that was, if they don’t let me give a speech, I’m going to roll right into Q&A,” Rittenhouse said. “We stopped the Q&A at a designated time and got out of there because we could just tell that the crowd was starting to get more and more hostile the more and more I shared my story.”
🚨EXCLUSIVE: First interview with Kyle Rittenhouse following the event at the University of Memphis.
— FRONTLINES (@FrontlinesTPUSA) March 21, 2024
"I highly doubt they'll be held accountable for harassing, and intimidating, and chasing other students."@Julio_Rosas11 | @TPUSA | @charliekirk11 | @ThisIsKyleR pic.twitter.com/D0f1I3gSUx
Rittenhouse’s plan of action played out as he described.
“I was violently attacked by a mob of rioters and …” Rittenhouse began his speech before he was promptly drowned out by growing boos.
As planned, Rittenhouse quickly shifted to taking questions, which was met with equal or greater condemnation from the crowd.
One Black male student set things in motion when he reeled off numerous statements assumed to be made by TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk in the past.
“He says we shouldn’t celebrate Juneteenth, we shouldn’t celebrate Martin Luther King Day, and we should be working those days. He’s told nonsense about George Floyd, and he’s said he’s scared [if] a black pilot was on the plane.” He closed it with, “Does that not seem racist?’
Rittenhouse’s only reply was, “I don’t know anything about that.”
That response further triggered the audience, with some yelling “deflection!” The “Acquitted” author was soon escorted off the stage with his support dog in tow.
The chaos continued outside with video footage showing state troopers escorting TPUSA organizers off campus as they were being followed by some protesters.
“It was really disappointing. These were people who were there peacefully and the people who came there to protest wanted to riot and to see them chasing after them for exercising their First Amendment Rights is really disheartening,” Rittenhouse said. “I highly doubt that they’re going to be held accountable for harassing and intimidating and chasing other students.”
🚨: Chaos breaks out at the University of Memphis after BLM protesters chased down @TPUSA people who were leaving the Kyle Rittenhouse event. Police had to prevent the hostile crowd from physically attacking them.@FrontlinesTPUSA pic.twitter.com/PFr8Ccqr0n
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) March 21, 2024
Rittenhouse is intent on controlling the narrative about his premature exit. In a post by Newsweek on X, he was asked to elaborate on “rumors you were chased off stage.” The post was shared with a statement Rittenhouse claimed the publication refused to share.
“The event was scheduled for 30 minutes. I spoke for 30 minutes, and then my security team told the coordinator that we were leaving after the question, and we left. I stayed for my scheduled time.”
Some were not buying Rittenhouse’s story.
“Speakers make a closing statement when they end their events. They don’t just say “I’m not commenting on that” then immediately bail. Also, the woman staff member was even out of the loop of you wanting to leave. This wasn’t a planned exit. You ran/bailed”, wrote one X user.
“That was beautiful to see Kyle crumble” added another.
Speakers make a closing statement when they end their events. They don't just say "I'm not commenting on that" then immediately bail.
— 🔥 𝔽𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕜 🔥 (@FailedHeatsink) March 22, 2024
Also, the woman staff member was even out of the loop of you wanting to leave. This wasn't a planned exit. You ran/bailed. pic.twitter.com/luC2gv3OMO
“So you’re saying that you always end your speeches by stomping off stage, dragging your dog, and without thanking the audience or giving some type of close. Thats even more embarrassing 😂. You should have stuck to the chase off story. 🤡,” another user mocked.
Rittenhouse was 17 when he shot three men, killing two of them, during an August 2020 demonstration against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was acquitted in 2021 of all the charges he faced after the shooting.
“I didn’t murder anybody, I acted in self-defense,” Rittenhouse said. “I think [people] have a misguided opinion of what happened based on the lies of the media and the fake news networks.”
Rittenhouse’s next stop on his college speaking tour is at Western Kentucky University on March 27. Then he’ll visit Kent State University on April 16, where students have already complained about his scheduled appearance.
Those schools released statements saying the events will move forward.
