Erika Kirk (née Frantzve) has carried on her husband Charlie Kirk's legacy in the wake of his assassination. Charlie was shot and killed at the age of 31 in September 2025 during a speaking engagement in Utah. He is survived by Erika and the pair's two children. Immediately after Charlie's death, the board of his Turning Point USA organization announced that Erika was "unanimously elected" as the next CEO. Erika subsequently kicked off a slate of media appearances that have raised eyebrows among critics for seemingly moving on too soon. "There is no linear blueprint for grief. One day you're collapsed on the floor crying out the name Jesus in between labored breaths," Erika wrote via Instagram in October 2025. "The next you're playing with your children in the living room, surrounded by family photos and feeling a rush of something you can only attempt to define as divinely planted and bittersweet joy." Erika Kirk Addresses Conspiracy Theories About Charlie Kirk's Burial and Death She continued, "They say time heals, but love doesn't ask to be healed. Love asks to be remembered. It's humbling to realize that this magnitude of suffering didn't steal my love for my husband. It amplified it. It crystallized it." Keep scrolling to see what the stars have said about Erika following Charlie's death: Tim Allen Michael Tran/ AFP via Getty Images During a September 2025 memorial for Charlie, Erika revealed that she forgave the man who shot the conservative commentator. "When Erika Kirk spoke the words on the man who killed her husband: 'That man... that young man... I forgive him.' That moment deeply affected me," Shifting Gears star Tim Allen wrote via X. "I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my Dad. I will say those words now as I type: 'I forgive the man who killed my father.' Peace be with you all." Allen was 11 when his dad, Gerald M. Dick, was killed by a drunk driver in a 1964 car accident. Christine Quinn Rick Kern/Getty Images for Netflix Selling Sunset alum Christine Quinn, however, was against Erika stepping out and returning to work so soon after Charlie's death. "Erika Kirk be everywhere but with her kids," Quinn wrote via X in December 2025. A social media user replied to Quinn, writing, "Charlie told women to stay at home and raise kids and his wife be doing the complete opposite." The real estate agent agreed with the individual, succinctly responding, "THIS." Jennifer Welch Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for GLAAD Bravo alum Jennifer Welch thought that Erika is an "absolute grifter." "You are an opportunistic grifter who weaponizes your gender to demean women," Welch said on her "I've Had It" podcast, slamming Erika's then-recent comments advising New York-based women against delaying marriage for career success. "You are a walking, talking, breathing example as to why nobody, No. 1, wants to be a Christian, and No. 2, wants to be a female hypocrite such as yourself." Welch continued, "For you to prance into Manhattan and lecture women who are abundantly aware of the coattails of which we have ridden ... to be able to be heard. You are so divorced from reality and you need to go back to the Turning Point bubble." Savannah Chrisley Dominic Gwinn / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP Savannah Chrisley, who had a close friendship with Charlie, said on her "Unlocked" podcast in September 2025 that Erika's eulogy felt "like a Jackie Kennedy moment." (Former first lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis had been by husband John F. Kennedy's side when he was assassinated in 1963.) "She was so poised and so full of God's love and grace," Chrisley said of Erika. "I don't know how she did it. I don't know how she stood up there and spoke the praises of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, when her husband just got assassinated in front of the world. I don't, honestly, think I would be strong enough to do that." Megyn Kelly Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for TIME Erika joined Megyn Kelly on the latter's live tour in November 2025. "What an incredible night," Kelly wrote via Instagram, sharing photos from the event. "I'm really looking forward to bringing you this show tomorrow, but for now, here's a sneak peek!"