Candace Owens has accused Erika Kirk of backing out of a Turning Point USA event in Georgia due to weak ticket sales rather than any legitimate security concerns. Owens, who has previously made repeated conspiratorial claims surrounding Charlie Kirk’s assassination, alleged that his widow was not being truthful about the reason for her absence.
“This is exhausting,” Candace Owens wrote on X. “You pulled out because of bad ticket sales…Were there actually a viable threat, the Vice President would not have continued the event.” Clips shared across social media appeared to show large sections of empty seats inside the massive arena where the event was held, the Independent reports.
Please spare us the paid influencer campaign to convince us that Erika’s life was at risk from empty seats.
Just this one time, please oh please spare us, Turning Point. https://t.co/pDRAuy1XGO
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) April 15, 2026
During his remarks, Vice President JD Vance pushed back on criticism directed at Erika Kirk, calling the attacks “preposterous” and “disgusting.” She had originally been scheduled to join him Tuesday at a Turning Point USA gathering near the University of Georgia.
Event organizers said Erika Kirk withdrew after receiving “very serious threats,” though Vance still attended despite those concerns. Her late husband, Charlie Kirk, was fatally shot in September during an appearance at a campus event in Utah.
“It’s a terrible reflection on the state of reality and the state of the country,” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said from the stage at Akins Ford Arena in Athens, seated alongside JD Vance.
In a post on X, Erika Kirk explained her decision not to attend, writing, “I was so looking forward to tonight’s event at the [University of Georgia] with our Vice President [JD Vance], but after all our family has been through, I take my security team’s recommendations extremely seriously.”
Vance said the reported threats leading up to Tuesday’s event had left Erika Kirk, the organization’s CEO, “worried.” He also strongly criticized those he believes have unfairly targeted her following her husband’s death. Erika Kirk has been the focus of conspiracy theories in some right-leaning circles.
“Everybody is attacking her over everything, and they’re lying about her, and it’s one of the most disgraceful things that I’ve ever seen in public life,” Vance said, noting his close relationship with the Kirk family.
I was so looking forward to tonight’s event at the @universityofga with our Vice President @JDVance, but after all our family has been through, I take my security team’s recommendations extremely seriously. Thank you to our amazing Georgia chapter for your support. God bless you… https://t.co/f2rBre9ArJ
— Erika Kirk (@MrsErikaKirk) April 14, 2026
During a speech in December, Erika Kirk said the organization planned to support Vance in a widely speculated 2028 presidential run and help elect the Republican “in the most resounding way possible.” After her husband’s death in September, Vance hosted a memorial episode of his podcast from the White House. He, along with the second lady and Erika Kirk, also traveled aboard Air Force Two as it transported the activist’s remains back to Arizona.
Public attention intensified after the two shared an emotional embrace at an October Turning Point USA event in Mississippi, where Erika Kirk remarked she saw “similarities” between Vance and her late husband.
Speaking more broadly about the scrutiny she has faced, Vance addressed the criticism during Tuesday’s event without directly referencing the speculation.
“This desire to go after her for the way she’s grieving her husband, that’s the most preposterous thing I’ve seen in a long time,” JD Vamce said. “Why don’t you stay in your own lane and mind your business,” he added. “Grief is complicated.”
Second lady Usha Vance has dismissed rumors of any inappropriate relationship as an unfounded “fever dream” fueled by media speculation, saying the Vance family considers such claims to be nothing more than a joke.
