The statement by Pastor Bobby Leonard is authentic. In a sermon delivered at the Bible Baptist Tabernacle in Monroe, North Carolina (which went viral in early 2024), Leonard explicitly said:
“If you dress like that and you get raped and I’m on the jury, he’s gonna go free… You don’t like that, do you? I’m right, though. Because a man’s a man.” While Charlie Kirk had not publicly made a statement as explicitly violent or legally permissive of rape as Leonard’s, his “sayings” and ideological framework align with the underlying premises of Leonard’s argument in three specific ways:
1. The Burden of “Self-Control” Placed on Women
The core logic of Leonard’s quote is that women are responsible for managing male sexual behavior through their clothing. Charlie Kirk and his organization, Turning Point USA (TPUSA), have promoted a polished version of this exact sentiment.
- Kirk’s Alignment: At TPUSA’s “Young Women’s Leadership Summit,” the messaging has explicitly framed modesty not just as a personal choice, but as a duty women owe to men. Reports from these events highlight rhetoric urging young women to dress modestly to “teach men self-control.”
- The Connection: Both men place the responsibility for male behavior on women. Leonard argues that if a woman fails this duty, she forfeits legal protection (“he’s gonna go free”). Kirk argues that if a woman fails this duty, she is contributing to societal disorder or failing to be a “godly” influence. The mechanism—women must cover up because men cannot/will not control themselves—is identical.
2. “A Man’s A Man” vs. “Biological Reality”
Leonard uses the phrase “Because a man’s a man” to suggest that male sexual aggression is an immutable biological instinct that cannot be curbed, only avoided. Kirk frequently uses the phrase “Men are men” (or “Men are male”) as a cornerstone of his worldview.
- Kirk’s Alignment: Kirk advocates for “biological essentialism”—the idea that gender roles and behaviors are fixed by nature. He often asserts that “men are men” to argue against transgender rights or to enforce traditional patriarchal roles (e.g., telling women to “submit to your husband”).
- The Connection: While Kirk usually uses “men are men” to defend traditional masculinity against “feminization,” it aligns with Leonard’s view that male nature is fixed and unchangeable. Leonard views rape as a natural consequence of this fixed nature meeting “immodesty”; Kirk views male dominance and leadership as the natural consequence of this fixed nature. Both reject the idea that men should be socialized to behave differently, viewing “traditional” male nature as something to be accepted rather than critiqued.
3. Minimizing the Victim & Centering the Man
Leonard’s quote centers the male perspective (“I’m on the jury,” “a man’s a man”) and dismisses the victim’s trauma as a consequence of her choices. Kirk has similarly minimized the reality of sexual assault by centering the male experience.
- Kirk’s Alignment: Kirk has famously dismissed the statistic that “1 in 5 women will be raped” as “pathologically insane” and “rubbish.” He framed the discussion of sexual assault statistics not as a crisis for women, but as an attack on men, stating: “You want to know why men are becoming conservative? … We as men know that’s a bunch of rubbish … we’re tired being called rapists at every turn.”
- The Connection: Both men prioritize the protection of men over the reality of female victimization. Leonard protects the hypothetical rapist on the jury stand; Kirk protects the reputation of men as a group by denying the prevalence of rape.
Charlie Kirk provided the “intellectual” scaffolding for Bobby Leonard’s raw extremism.
Where Leonard bluntly says, “You deserve it because men can’t help themselves,” Kirk said, “Men are being unfairly demonized, and women should return to traditional modesty and submission to restore order.” They share the same foundational belief: that male nature is fixed, and women must adapt their behavior and rights to accommodate it.
