Erika Kirk Hints At Those 'Grifter' Allegations With A One-Word Demand

Mere days after being called out by a podcaster, Erika Kirk, widow of controversial conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, came out with a fiery response. While sitting down on Fox News' "Outnumbered" with host Harris Faulkner, Erika got heated about conspiracy theories circling around the tragic death of her husband. While much of the rhetoric was aimed at anonymous masses, Erika's singular word response might be pointed directly at one person — Jennifer Welch, co-host of the "I've Had It" podcast, who on December 7 referred to Erika as a "grifter" (via Fox News). This might have been what tipped Erika into pleading with people to "stop."

At one point in the interview, Faulkner admits that she's never seen Erika this fired up before, to which Erika responds, "This is righteous anger." But it does seem that pious ire might be pointed in Welch's direction, as earlier in the sit down Erika made a comment about people "making hundreds of thousands of dollars every single episode going after the people that I love." Considering that just a few days prior, Welch called out Erika for being "hypocritical" and Charlie for being "homophobic" (via The Independent), it would make sense that the former reality television star would want to fire back. However, it could be argued that Welch had a decent point to make, and Erika could be trying to deflect attention from some other, unrelated rumors.

Speaking at the New York Times Dealbook Summit on December 3, Erika Kirk waxed poetic about her belief that women might be avoiding traditional roles and marriages "because you're relying on the government to support you." This caught Jennifer Welch's attention, as it's fairly common knowledge that Erika lived quite a life before taking over her late husband Charlie Kirk's company. Welch found it upsetting that Erika was onstage scolding "women who are abundantly aware of the coattails" Erika has used to get where she is today. Erika, it seems, used this moment to steer attention away from some other nasty rumors.

Taking one for the team and getting fired up on "Outnumbered" just might help Erika outrun the disastrous hug between her and Vice President JD Vance that set off the rumor mill. Since October, the internet has been in a frenzy over how intimate Erika and Vance appeared to be with each other. Erika's attempts at damage control have not offered any reprieve, which might be why she was so willing to use her time sitting next to Harris Faulkner to seemingly call out Welch. Even if it means people will find out that the former beauty queen might be dabbling in light hypocrisy by telling an audience to pursue more traditional relationships while Erika herself was living the Kimberly Guilfoyle life. Of course, Erika's history of elevating her own status doesn't necessarily make her a grifter, however it unfortunately isn't helping her outpace the negative attention that's been hounding her.