Utah Valley University scraps controversial commencement speaker who criticized Charlie Kirk after his murder

Utah Valley University (UVU) announced on Thursday that author and educator Sharon McMahon will no longer serve as its commencement speaker after widespread backlash to her past comments about Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk following his assassination on the same campus.

"Due to increased safety concerns related to the speaker and in consultation with public safety professionals and Sharon McMahon, Utah Valley University has decided to proceed without a featured commencement speaker for this year’s ceremony," the school announced. 

Days after Kirk was killed, McMahon wrote on X, "Millions of people feel they were harmed, and the murder that was horrific and should never have happened does not magically erase what was said or done."

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The school selecting McMahon emerged as a polarizing issue, with ex-Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz calling it a "horrific choice." 

Turning Point USA chapter president at Utah Valley University Caleb Chilcutt called the selection of McMahon a "slap to the face" Monday on "Fox & Friends."

This is a developing story, more to come… 

Fox News Digital’s Max Bacall contributed to this report.