Right-wing influencer Candace Owens is facing backlash for her upcoming series about Erica Kirk, the wife of murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Owens and Erika Kirk met privately two months ago, presumably to clear the air, but Owens continues to push conspiracy theories about the circumstances surrounding the murder of Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed at a Turning Point USA event in Utah on September 10.
After his death, Erika Kirk became CEO of the conservative youth activist organization her husband founded in 2012.
Owens continues to question the accuracy of Kirk’s account of the days leading up to her death, most recently in a letter to Erika Kirk that she read on her podcast two weeks ago.
“Charlie’s Bride” series debuts on February 25th
On February 24th, Owens posted on social media a teaser trailer for the series “Charlie’s Brides: Investigation Series,” scheduled to air on February 25th. The 1 minute 42 second video begins with the news of Kirk’s death. Then there’s a video of Erica Kirk showing her actions as CEO of Turning Point USA, then hinting at some sort of cover-up and mentioning Israel and “Zionists.”
It didn’t take long for a backlash to arise online. Television personality Meghan McCain wrote in a post on X that the act was “pure, unadulterated…evil. Who in the name of God would subject a woman whose husband was brutally murdered to go through this for the whole world to see? I am so upset by this and I am so sorry that Erica and her family had to go through this.”
“What would Charlie say about this?” posted Seth Dillion, CEO of the Babylon Bee, a conservative news satire site. In one post about X, he retweeted a post by Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro that said, “@RealCandaceO is evil.”
Erika Kirk will be one of President Donald Trump’s guests at the State of the Union on Tuesday, February 24, according to a post on X by White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt.
Mike Snyder is a national trends news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, and X, and email him at: mike snyder & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.
