TMZ explained, "We want to address something that happened during our TMZ Livestream coverage of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. As Harvey and Charles were reporting the developments in our newsroom, there were employees in another part of the building watching a car chase."
They claimed the laughter came from a portion of the office not engaged with the horrific act of violence. "The people watching that car chase began laughing and clapping in reaction to what they were seeing, but we want to make it clear ... they were not cheering in response to the assassination," the outlet said in a statement.
However, they conceded that being distracted by the chase itself was insensitive.
"Nevertheless ... watching a car chase at that moment was tone deaf, and the sounds of laughter at that crucial moment were totally out of line," they said. "We apologize to anyone who heard that as we were in the middle of covering such a tragic story."