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In the weeks after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during a speaking engagement, virtually every major media figure felt compelled to comment on the situation.
One such figure was Jimmy Kimmel, whose joke about the politicization of the murder ruffled feathers within the Trump administration.
Kimmel was suspended by ABC after FCC Chair Brendan Carr publicly threatened the network’s parent company, Disney, with retribution.
The host was eventually reinstated, but the debate over his comment continues — and now, Charlie’s widow, Erika Kirk, has broken her silence on the subject.
Kimmel controversy continues as Erika Kirk rebuffs apology
On Monday, Kirk participated in her first sit-down interview since her husband’s death.
In a conversation with Jesse Watters of Fox News, she revealed that Sinclair Broadcast Group, which operates numerous ABC stations across the country, asked her if she wanted to appear on Kimmel’s show and receive an apology.
“I told them thank you we received their note. This is not our issue. It’s not our mess,” Kirk told Watters.
“If you wanna say I’m sorry to someone who’s grieving, go right ahead. But if that’s not in your heart, then don’t do it. I don’t want it. I don’t need it.”
In his first post-suspension monologue, Kimmel did express remorse to anyone close to Charlie who might have been offended by his remarks.
But he also pointed out that his joke was about the political reaction to Kirk’s murder, not the murder itself.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said on the September 15 episode of his show.
Kimmel’s remarks ignited an unexpected firestorm of controversy, as many observers argued that the Trump administration had trampled on the comic’s First Amendment rights by getting pressuring his employers.
Even rightwing politicians like Ted Cruz criticized the Trump administration for violating Kimmel’s right to free speech.
Elsewhere in the interview, Kirk was asked if her daughter continues to ask where her father is.
“Yes. My daughter continues to ask. But it’s really sweet because I keep explaining to her a few things,” Erika said.
“And I said, ‘If ever you want to talk to daddy, you just look up to the sky and start talking to him. He can hear you,’” she continued, adding:
“I told her, I said, ‘You know, daddy, daddy is in heaven.’ She goes, ‘You think I could go sometime?’ I said, ‘Baby, we will all go one day. We will all go one day.’”
Erika previously made headlines when she spoke at Charlie Kirk’s memorial and revealed that she had forgiven her husband’s killer.
