Sabrina Messa

Introduction

Sabrina Messa is a Canadian citizen who had been living in Los Angeles and who said she lost her job and was given notice to leave the United States after posting content mocking Charlie Kirk around the first anniversary of his assassination. Around September 11, 2026, she shared memes about Kirk and images of people standing on a U.S. flag; after the posts drew a wave of online criticism, she apologized, said she had been fired “with cause”, and announced that she and her sister would leave the country. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau then posted publicly that the State Department “has revoked a record number of visas this past year,” a statement widely read as addressing cases like hers — though the department does not comment on individual cases and never confirmed hers.

Background Information

Little is publicly established about Messa beyond the posts that made her a subject of national coverage. She used the X handle @SabrinaMessa95, and the conservative site Twitchy described her as “a proud Torontonian temporarily in the U.S.” who was visiting with her sister and her sister’s friends. Newsweek’s report identified her only as a Canadian citizen who had been living in Los Angeles. Her age, occupation, employer, and immigration status were not reported by either outlet, and the employer she said dismissed her has never been named publicly. The public record consists almost entirely of the posts, the apology, and her own statements about the consequences that followed.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The incident began with social media posts around the first anniversary of Kirk’s assassination on September 10, 2026. On Friday, September 11, the account posted a meme mocking Kirk and a photo showing Messa’s sister and friends standing on an American flag. Newsweek reported that she “attracted attention after posting memes mocking Kirk and images showing people standing on a U.S. flag.” As criticism spread across X the following day, she posted an apology on September 12: “Yesterday, I posted memes about Charlie Kirk that were insensitive and disrespectful to his family. For this I sincerely apologize. My intent was never to cause harm to anyone.” She added that she had “also uploaded personal photos of myself and my sister and her friends” standing on the U.S. flag, calling that “in poor taste.” By her own account, the consequences landed almost immediately. “Congratulations, I just got fired ‘with cause’”, she wrote, adding: “You’ve gotten your wish. I have lost my job. I am not fighting the removal order. Neither is my sister. We will be leaving this Monday.” No crime has been alleged in connection with the posts; the conduct at issue was the online speech itself. The firing and the removal notice are her own statements — neither her employer nor any government agency has been publicly identified or has confirmed taking action against her.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The response was immediate and polarized. Conservative accounts amplified the posts, and Twitchy’s coverage — headlined around a “Canadian Troll Whose Visa Was ‘Pulled’ Over Vile Posts” — celebrated the outcome as “well deserved.” The site also noted that she had claimed, and then deleted, a statement that her visa was pulled, and some of its commenters argued the episode had the hallmarks of an elaborate trolling operation — a reading no outlet substantiated. On Sunday, September 13, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau posted on X: “Sec. Rubio has frequently underscored that a US visa is a privilege, not a right. Just as I said a year ago, foreigners who celebrate violence and political assassination aren’t welcome guests in our country. The @StateDept has revoked a record number of visas this past year, and will continue to do so as necessary and appropriate to protect our people.” Newsweek framed her case as part of a wider wave of fallout — professors, students, and visa holders facing consequences over anniversary posts — and noted that the State Department does not comment on individual cases. A department spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, said only in general terms that the U.S. “will not tolerate people here on visas who break our laws, support terrorism, or unlawfully incite violence.”

Current Status

By the time Newsweek covered the case on September 14, 2026, Messa had said she and her sister would leave the United States “this Monday” — the day the report was published. Whether she actually departed on that date has not been independently confirmed; no follow-up reporting has verified her removal or the government action she described. The State Department has never confirmed her case, consistent with its policy of not commenting on individual visa matters. Beyond her apology thread, no further public statement from her has been reported. In the absence of confirmation from any agency, the central claims of her case — the firing, the visa revocation, and the removal order — rest entirely on her own account.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The consequences Messa described were swift and total. Within roughly twenty-four hours of her apology, she said she had been fired “with cause” from a job whose employer has never been identified, and that she was complying with a removal notice rather than contesting it. For a Canadian who had been living in Los Angeles, the episode ended her time in the United States altogether, assuming she carried out the departure she announced. Because her occupation and employer were never publicly known, the professional cost of the firing cannot be assessed beyond her own description of it. What the case illustrates is the speed at which online backlash crossed from social media shaming into employment and immigration consequences — and how a single post, in the heated atmosphere of the Kirk anniversary, could end a foreign national’s ability to remain in the country. Her case became one of the emblematic examples Newsweek cited in documenting how the anniversary’s online battles produced “real-world consequences.”