Erika Kirk has responded to the controversy following a hug she shared with Vice President JD Vance, which was labeled as ‘inappropriate’ by some online commentators.
In September, Charlie Kirk was tragically killed during an event hosted by his organization, Turning Point USA, at Utah Valley University.
After the conservative commentator’s untimely death, Erika committed to carrying forward his mission for the non-profit, taking over as its CEO.
Since assuming her new role, Erika has been frequently seen alongside Vance at various events.
One such event took place last month at the University of Mississippi during the ‘This Is the Turning Point’ tour, where Vance was a featured guest.
During the event, Vance came on stage and shared a hug with Erika before addressing the crowd, an exchange that became widely discussed.
During the embrace, Erika placed her hand on the back of Vance’s head, an intimate gesture that drew attention.
Erika addressed the backlash during an interview with Megyn Kelly over the weekend.
“Whoever is hating on a hug, that needs a hug themselves, I will give you a free hug anytime you want a hug,” Erika remarked.
She explained that such a gesture reflects her ‘love language’ and provided context for the hug with Vance, which garnered significant attention.
“I’m walking over, he’s walking over, I’m starting to cry, he says ‘he’s so proud of you,’ and I say ‘God bless you,’ and I touch the back of his head,” the 37-year-old recounted.
Erika added: “Anyone who I’ve hugged, I’ve touched the back of your head when I hug you, I always say God bless you. That’s just me. If you want to take that out of context, go right ahead. Again, that to me shows that you need a hug more than anyone else.”
After the hug with JD Vance, Erika once again made headlines with another series of heartfelt embraces when she was awarded the inaugural Charlie Kirk Legacy Award at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards earlier this month.
The 36-year-old received the honor from country singer Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany, resulting in a similar embrace to the one with Vance.
On X, formerly Twitter, a user commented: “It’s not a healthy way to hug someone. It’s overly familiar. It’s intimate. She has poor boundaries.”
While some criticized Erika’s hugs as too ‘touchy-feely,’ others came to the defense of the Turning Point USA CEO on social media.