Erika Kirk Condemns Jokes About Husband's Killing After Chappelle, Podcast Remarks

Erika Kirk, widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, said in a Sunday post on X that jokes about his killing are "beyond disgusting." She said her husband was killed in political violence that she and their two children will live with for the rest of their lives, and that a culture laughing at assassination is in "profound moral decay." Charlie Kirk was shot in September 2025 while speaking at Utah Valley University. Her post followed two incidents. Comedian Dave Chappelle told a New York audience he felt better since Kirk's murder, saying he was in a "good mood." Separately, Jennifer Welch and co-host Sullivan of the "I've Had It" podcast laughed at a joke about digging up Kirk and doing it again, then apologized after a backlash. A new video has since surfaced of Chappelle seemingly alluding to Kirk being in hell.

HuffPost (left) leads with Erika Kirk's message, quotes it at length, and presents Chappelle's Madison Square Garden remark and the podcast hosts' apology as the background. Breitbart and the Daily Wire (right) lead with the targets. Breitbart's headline says Kirk "slams" Chappelle and Welch, and it calls the jokes grotesque and hateful and notes more than 20 seconds of laughter. The Daily Wire opens with Chappelle's own words, his "Karmageddon" tour, and Jack Posobiec's point that Kirk once defended Chappelle. Both sides quote Kirk's post nearly identically. They differ in emphasis, and HuffPost places Chappelle's show on Saturday while the Daily Wire says Friday. TMZ's alternative coverage adds the second Chappelle video.