Erika Kirk, widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and commentator Candace Owens met on Monday after months of public tension following Charlie’s assassination. Erika has been promoting her late husband’s final book while navigating the fallout of the tragedy. The meeting marked a pause in their online feud, with Erika announcing that she and Owens “have agreed that public discussions, livestreams, and tweets are on hold until after this meeting.”
The two women have been at odds since September 10, when 31-year-old Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University in Utah.
Roots of the feud
The dispute stems largely from Owens spreading conspiracy theories around Charlie’s death. Owens, a former Turning Point USA member, has a history of controversial claims, including accusing Brigitte Macron of being a man, dismissing the Moon landing as “fake and gay,” and asserting that Harvey Weinstein was wrongly convicted.
“I do not believe the story we are being told. I think there are too many unanswered questions,” Owens said, referencing Charlie’s killing. She has suggested that foreign governments, including France and Israel, and powerful shadowy groups may have had motives. “French Foreign Legionnaires were involved in Charlie Kirk’s assassination,” Owens wrote on X.
Owens has also criticised those close to Charlie. “Nothing feels right to me about…the way that some of [Charlie’s] employees and friends have been behaving since that assassination,” she wrote. She accused Turning Point USA leadership of betraying Charlie: “I can now say with full confidence that I believe Charlie Kirk was betrayed by the leadership of Turning Point USA and some of the very people who eulogised him on stage…”
Owens questioned whether the suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, acted alone and claimed Kirk had received premonitory messages about his murder—an assertion Erika disputes. Owens also shared that Charlie visited her in a dream, telling her “he was betrayed.” She added, “I’ve just spent hours working through this timeline and I am now fully of the belief that this is in fact a federal conspiracy. There is no other explanation. They are lying about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.”
In a wider critique, Owens compared Erika to Meghan Markle: “We are dealing with the subject of Erika Kirk and what transpired immediately following Charlie’s assassination. This is going to be read as Meghan Markle syndrome—where you want privacy when you want it, but you want publicity whenever you want it. And that just doesn’t work.”
Erika’s response
Erika, who has taken over leadership of Turning Point USA, strongly pushed back. “When you go after my family, my Turning Point USA family, my Charlie Kirk Show family, when you go after the people that I love, and you’re making hundreds and thousands of dollars every single episode going after the people that I love because somehow they’re in on this, no,” she told Fox News.
At a CBS Town Hall with Barry Weiss, Erika delivered a succinct message: “Stop. That’s it. That’s all I have to say. Stop.”
Conservative commentators have weighed in. Tim Pool and Dave Rubin publicly questioned Owens’ approach. “Why does Candace deserve any respect?” Rubin wrote on X. Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet and Charlie Kirk Show producer Blake Neff also criticised Owens, with Neff inviting her to appear on Erika’s show.
However, Owens has supporters. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said, “The FBI has this case, and of course the state of Utah. It’s their job to not only find out what happened, but to present it to the public in a way that restores some confidence… How can you be mad at Candace Owens or anyone else for filling a vacuum that they left?”
Carrie Prejean Boller also praised Owens: “Asking questions doesn’t make you crazy. It makes you a threat to people who are lying… I stand with Candace Owens and her friend Charlie Kirk. Because he said you better keep asking questions because it’s the only thing that keeps you free. Candace is doing that.”
The meeting
Owens described the Monday meeting as productive, lasting four and a half hours. “Erika and I had an extremely productive 4 1/2-hour meeting that I think we both feel should have taken place a lot earlier than it did,” she said. “We agreed much more than I had anticipated. Of course, we also disagreed on various points and people as well. Most importantly, we were able to share intel and clarify intent.”
She said she would provide a detailed podcast rundown the next day. “I will of course have a full rundown for you all tomorrow as I am currently exhausted, but I wanted to quickly let you guys know that absolutely nothing was held back and the immediate result was that tensions were thawed.” Owens added that topics ranged from Egyptian planes to Turning Point USA, with some of Erika’s answers surprising her.
Erika confirmed the meeting’s productivity on X: “Had a very productive conversation with @RealCandaceO. More to come from both of us. Looking forward to AmFest this week. Time to get back to work.”
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