Podcasters Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan apologized Saturday after facing criticism for laughing at a social media post about exhuming the body of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
On Thursday’s episode of Welch’s “I’ve Had It” podcast, the hosts read and laughed at posts reacting to Democrats’ wins in the 2026 midterm elections. Several mocked conservative views on abortion, vaccines and LGBTQ+ issues.
Welch read one post that joked about finding someone to have sex with and offered to cover the cost of an abortion. The hosts also laughed at a post mocking Republicans over pronouns. Welch praised the authors of the posts, calling them “patriots” and saying they made her feel patriotic.
Then Welch read a post saying, “We’re digging up Charlie Kirk and doing it again,” and laughed. The hosts later apologized in an Instagram statement.
“On Thursday’s show, we laughed at a joke about Charlie Kirk. It was an insensitive joke, and we should not have laughed. We regret it, and we apologize,” they wrote. They added that, despite political differences, gun violence was not something to joke about, and said they had long supported gun safety reforms.
The hosts said they had donated to Everytown for Gun Safety and would continue using their platforms to support public safety.
During the episode, after reacting to the post, the pair said, “No comment,” then claimed—without offering evidence—that Tyler Robinson, who is accused of killing Kirk, supported President Donald Trump.
“Other than he was shot by somebody that was super MAGA,” Sullivan said. Welch added that he was shot by “a MAGA person,” describing him as a “White person, White MAGA family.”
Robinson and his family lived in Washington County, Utah, where about 75% of voters supported Trump in the presidential election. State voter registration records listed Robinson as unaffiliated with a political party, and showed that he had not voted in the previous two general elections.
The hosts’ comments drew criticism from several public figures. Conservative activist Riley Gaines accused them of presenting themselves as morally superior while expressing hostility. Influencer Collin Rugg wrote that they would laugh at someone’s death while still believing they were “the good guys.”
David Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, also criticized the hosts, saying advertisers should stop supporting what he called “gutter trash.”
Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff said he was frustrated that Welch and Sullivan were treated as representatives of the Democratic Party, despite often criticizing Democrats themselves. He argued that their remarks had pulled attention away from the party’s election wins and were not helping its cause.
Welch and Sullivan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
