Erica Kirk Responds to Kimmel’s Comments

In her first public response, Turning Point USA CEO Erica Kirk addressed comments made by ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel regarding the assassination of her husband, Charlie Kirk, who founded TPUSA. This discussion took place during an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, scheduled to air on Wednesday.

Kimmel was suspended by ABC on September 17 after a complaint from the station’s ownership group. Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcasting, which own over 50 ABC affiliates, announced they would no longer air “Jimmy Kimmel Live” following his remarks about the incident.

“We hit a record low over the weekend because the MAGA gang is desperately trying to portray this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said during the September 15 episode of his show.

During the interview, Erica Kirk mentioned that Sinclair Broadcasting reached out to inquire about Kimmel’s comments and if there was any possibility of addressing them.

Watters prompted her, saying, “What would you say to Jimmy Kimmel?” She replied, “The same thing I told Sinclair. They asked if I wanted Kimmel to apologize, or if I wanted to be on the show. I said, ‘Please tell them thank you for their letter. This is not our problem. If you want to apologize to someone grieving, do it now. But if it’s not heartfelt, don’t bother. I don’t need it.’

Erica Kirk did not comment further when approached by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Kimmel’s suspension followed similar actions against various individuals, including MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd and Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah, who faced backlash for their comments on social media justifying or mocking Kirk’s assassination.

Kimmel returned to his show on September 23 but did not apologize for his earlier remarks, emphasizing that he never intended to minimize the tragedy. “I want to be clear. I never meant to make light of the murder of a young man,” he insisted.

Although Nexstar and Sinclair have resumed airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Sinclair has indicated that they will seek a formal apology. In a previous statement, they noted that they would not lift the suspension until discussions regarding professionalism and accountability took place with ABC. They also urged Kimmel to apologize directly to the Kirk family and to consider making a donation to them and to Turning Point USA.