Dave Chappelle’s Charlie Kirk Joke Draws Erika Kirk Rebuke
Erika Kirk called laughter over political assassination “beyond disgusting” after video of Dave Chappelle joking about her husband’s death at Madison Square Garden spread online. Piers Morgan and a podcast’s advertisers have also weighed in on the row over jokes about Charlie Kirk.
Dave Chappelle’s Charlie Kirk joke at a sold-out Madison Square Garden show has drawn a public response from Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, who wrote on X that using a human life’s destruction as a punchline is “beyond disgusting.” The post followed days of backlash over video clips from the comedian’s show.
The performance was part of Chappelle’s “Karmageddon” tour. It was advertised as phone-free, with devices stored in Yondr pouches, but clips leaked onto social media anyway.
What Chappelle said
“Ever since that guy Charlie Kirk got murdered — and I shouldn’t say this publicly — but I feel better,” Chappelle said, according to one video posted to X. He added: “I know I shouldn’t say that, but it’s just a feeling.”
In another clip, he said he did not ask to feel this way. He described driving around in a good mood and wondering why.
Chappelle’s representatives did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Erika Kirk’s reply
She wrote that seeing “leftist podcasters, comedians, and commentators laugh about political assassination as though it’s entertainment and the destruction of a human life is a punchline, is beyond disgusting.” She did not specify what prompted her statement.
“My husband, Charlie Kirk, was killed in an act of political violence, something our two children and I will live with every day for the rest of our lives,” she wrote. She also said, “A culture that laughs at assassination is one of profound moral decay.”
Wider criticism
British broadcaster Piers Morgan called Chappelle’s comment “disgusting” in a post on X. He wrote that it was “especially egregious given that Chappelle himself survived an attack on stage in 2022.”
Chappelle is not the only figure under scrutiny. Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan, hosts of the “I’ve Had It” podcast, reportedly laughed at a social media joke about Kirk while recapping midterm election quips. The joke read, “we’re digging up Charlie Kirk and doing it again.”
Several advertisers left the show. Cash App wrote on X: “We do not condone violence of any kind, and we are no longer sponsors of this podcast.”
The hosts apologized in a statement on the podcast’s Instagram account. “It was an insensitive joke, and we should not have laughed,” they wrote, adding, “We regret it, and we apologize.” They said they donated money to the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety as part of the apology.
Comedian Michael Che also joked about Kirk’s killing in the opening of his Netflix special “Michael Che: Shot in Minnesota,” released last month. In an interview with The Times, Che said he wants people to “laugh at the things that horrify you.”
Background
Kirk, a conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, died on Sept. 10, 2025. He was shot during a college event in Utah and was 31. Tyler Robinson of Utah has been charged in his death.
