Podcast host Candace Owens issued a response on Wednesday after Erika Kirk publicly criticized those she believes are profiting from the killing of her husband, Charlie Kirk. Erika Kirk appeared on Fox News with host Harris Faulkner, where she expressed deep frustration toward Owens and others she accused of exploiting her family’s tragedy.
Owens has circulated a wide range of claims about who is responsible for the killing—including the French government, Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jewish donors, the U.S. government or “Deep State,” leaders at Turning Point USA, Erika Kirk herself, and various others. None of these allegations have been substantiated.
During her interview, Erika Kirk did not refer to Owens by name but delivered a forceful denunciation of those she said have been making “hundreds of thousands of dollars” by attacking her family and the Turning Point USA community.
“Here’s my breaking point,” she said. “Come after me, call me names, I don’t care. But when you go after my family—my Turning Point USA family, my Charlie Kirk Show family—when you go after the people I love, and you’re making hundreds of thousands of dollars every episode by claiming they’re somehow involved in this? No.”
Kirk described the emotional toll the allegations have taken on her team.
“Your words are powerful, and we are human,” she said. “My team is exhausted. We’ve received more death threats than I’ve ever seen. I have kidnapping threats. Every time someone drags this back up, are we supposed to relive that trauma? They watched my husband get murdered.”
She also pleaded for privacy regarding her husband’s resting place.
“Can my children have one thing? Everything was public. Can my babies have this one sacred thing where their father is laid to rest, without fearing someone will desecrate his grave while my daughter is praying there?” she said. “I do not have time to address the noise. My silence does not mean complacency.”
Later in the day, Owens fired back, sharply criticizing Erika Kirk’s interview.
“This wasn’t grief. This was a performance,” Owens claimed. “She just unmasked herself and the entire TPUSA machine in one interview. We knew Charlie Kirk. Now the world gets to know Erika Kirk.”
Owens continued by suggesting the controversy was orchestrated: “It’s never been more obvious that this is a psychological operation. I actually wish TPUSA would put me on payroll so I could help them make these things look more organic.”