What to Know
Given that people have already questioned Erika Kirk’s behavior in the aftermath of her husband’s death, a newly leaked audio clip isn’t exactly doing her any favors. Charlie Kirk was shot and killed in September 2025. And according to Candace Owens, less than two weeks after that, his wife was allegedly talking about merch sales. The conservative commentator shared a leaked audio recording on YouTube, alleging that it was a conversation Erika had less than two weeks after her husband was killed.
Candace described the audio as “off-putting,” and reactions on social media were pretty mixed.
In the clip, Erika allegedly spoke of ‘an event of the century.’
She seemed to be speaking of Charlie’s memorial event. Though Candace and her team have said the leaked audio is really Erika, it has not been verified elsewhere. In the clip, the woman (allegedly Erika) said, “I don’t even know where to begin. The fact that we were able to pull off an event of a century, like, it’s just insane. We had over 275,000 people that attended and stadium overflow, west gate. Insane, you guys. And then you have, was it 100 million? That heard the gospel and all about Charlie and all about everything that you guys do and the hard work of Turning Point USA is insane.”
Then, she went on to boast about merch sales. “We had thousands that were registered to vote. I think we’re at, like, over 200,000 for merch sales. Don’t quote me on that because I think it just keeps, like, bumping up like crazy.”
Later in the clip, Erika explained that this is what Charlie would’ve wanted. “Charlie would want us to get back to work, and that’s what we’re doing,” she allegedly explained. “And that’s what we did with the memorial, and I’m so honored and proud of each and every one of you because that’s what we’re going to do in his honor and in his name.”
She mentioned numbers again.
What some people, including Candace, have found “off-putting” is the way Erika focused on numbers and the event’s success. Others also argued that she sounded way too cheerful. This has been a controversy for a while now because Erika continues to host events and participate in many interviews, and some people think she should look more visibly distraught or should be struggling to function. Yes, everyone grieves differently… but still, a lot of people online still aren’t sure about the way Erika’s been doing it.
“We have so much to do, which is exciting. Charlie in heaven is like, ‘You guys thought you had a busy schedule then, just you wait,’ and he’s doing some awesome things with Jesus in heaven right now,” Erika allegedly continued. “Since his assassination, we have 100,000 chapter requests. We have 300,000 new donors. That is a blessing in itself. Again, not normal. All God. I think we have 50,000-plus hat orders to fulfill. I mean, I’m saying these numbers because it puts into perspective that we’re not just sitting, and thinking, and looking at the wall, being like, ‘What do we do?’ There is so much to do.”
‼️🇺🇸 ZERO GRIEF: @RealCandaceO shares TPUSA LEAKED AUDIO of Erika Kirk, just 11 DAYS AFTER Charlie KIRK'S ASSASSINATION, CHEERFULLY going over the numbers of his memorial event. 👀
— Diligent Denizen 🇺🇸 (@DiligentDenizen) January 27, 2026
Erika Frantzve Kirk can be heard GIGGLING and describing the merch sales and other analytics from… pic.twitter.com/BaX8ugItj0
Candace shared her opinion.
The conservative commentator also acknowledged that everyone grieves differently. But something felt off about the clip to her. “It is the general tone that is off-putting. It’s the laughter that is off-putting,” she said. “Again, we are not even two weeks after watching your husband be assassinated. We’re talking about numbers and metrics that have been hit.”
She added, “That’s moving pretty quickly to the acceptance phase now. We know everybody grieves differently. In my imagination, I just thought she would be more upset.”
So did a lot of people on social media. On X, one person wrote, “I listened so hard and could find literally zero grief in her voice. How can someone feel any sense of peace less than two weeks after their spouse was publicly murdered?” Someone else said, “She gave me the ick with that whole speech but especially with the merch talk.” A third critic noted that “she sounds giddy talking about his memorial event.”
But others defended Erika and questioned what she’s “supposed” to do. “What would you have her do? Sit around and be wailing and mourning like a distraught beast?” another person asked.
