Overview

• Attiah said she was dismissed last week after writing about gun violence and racial double standards following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, noting she was the Post’s last full-time Black opinion columnist.
• The termination letter, published by Status and confirmed by Business Insider, quoted her lines about “performative mourning” and “absolution for white men” and said the posts did not comply with policy barring disparagement based on protected characteristics.
• The Post declined to comment on personnel matters, as the Washington Post Guild condemned the firing and free-expression groups warned of a chilling effect on commentary.
• One of Attiah’s posts quoted a remark about Black women that she attributed to Kirk; outlets have disputed the phrasing and fact-checkers have examined its provenance, leaving the attribution contested.
• Two Post insiders told Business Insider that management had previously confronted Attiah over social posts and had encouraged her to take a buyout during the opinion section’s recent overhaul under new leadership.