Gass briefly complained on stage that the shooter had missed – a sentiment repeated in various forms across social media in the hours after the assassination attempt.
Celebrities' comments are certainly in the spotlight after a tragic incident, but regular people need to be careful about what they say, too, even if it is meant in jest, communications experts say. Joking about an assassination attempt that left a citizen dead is going too far .
"No matter how private your life is, everybody has an audience," said Karen North, a professor of digital social media at the University of South California and a psychologist. "And there’s always an audience for people misbehaving."
An instructor at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, was put on unpaid leave over what university officials said on Monday was an "offensive and unacceptable social media post." By Tuesday, John James was no longer employed there, though it's not clear if he resigned or was fired, the Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported .
"Words and actions that condone violence are unacceptable and contrary to our values, which call for respecting the intrinsic value and dignity of every individual," Jason Cissell, assistant vice president for communication at Bellarmine, said in a statement to the Courier Journal.
James didn't respond to a request for comment.
Similar comments about the shooting made by other non-celebrities have prompted backlash, too.
Another post by Libs of TikTok highlighted comments made by a worker at the Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar, a restaurant with locations in several states. The restaurant later said in a post that the worker was no longer employed and had violated its social media policy.
Campaign signs and empty water bottles are seen on the ground of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Anna Moneymaker, Getty Images
Social media is the 'town square': Be careful what you say online
The idea that people should be fired for their social media posts has come from all sides of the political spectrum in recent years, North said. But this time, people should be able to agree some comments are inappropriate.
"When it comes to things like wishing somebody died, there is nothing more horrible than making public statements about that," she said.
Social media removes the social cues we get from typical interactions. If you start to make an inappropriate comment or joke among work colleagues, for example, you might notice them cringe or look away, and then apologize and walk back what you said. When you post something online, the reaction comes later, North said.
The desire to be the first to share an idea with your circle might prevent you from asking yourself whether you'd say this to an audience, or whether it should be kept around the dinner table with immediate family, North said. And remember the cardinal rule of social media: Once it's out there, it's out there forever.
"Social media has become the town square," she said, "where people are put in the stocks and held out there to be humiliated because of their actions."
They absolutely deserved to lose their jobs especially teachers! Mostly I am disappointed in all the non journalist that are putting out trash to cause unrest in the country. The media is 100% responsible for the division that is going on. We have a handful of authenic journalists left in the country the rest are just gossip mongers and you know their names they are the ones that write articles about Princess Catherine and also digs at Meghan Markle. They have misleading headlines and their main goal is to cause hate and hurt to others. I believe we should all write our own gossip article about these scum writers see how they like being accused of affairs etc.
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