Megyn Kelly hasn’t stopped looking to the late Charlie Kirk since his death in September — especially when it comes to the tension between his wife, Erika Kirk, and podcaster Candace Owens.
Since Charlie was shot and killed earlier this year, Owens, 36, has ruffled feathers with her conspiracy theories about who was responsible — including questioning whether Turning Point, the conservative nonprofit organization Charlie cofounded, played a part — which has allegedly caused issues between Owens and Erika, 37. Kelly, 55, claims she has recently tried to remedy the alleged rift.
“Of course I don’t agree with what [Candace’s] said about Turning Point and Erika and she knows that,” Kelly said during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest on Friday, December 19. “But my point was simply, that I thought maybe Charlie [would] help me understand to keep my powder dry in the whole thing so maybe I could be in a position to make it happen.”
The Megyn Kelly Show host explained that a conversation between the women was what “Erika wants” and mused, “Maybe Candace does want an off ramp.” (Erika took over as CEO of Turning Point USA after Charlie was assassinated at the age of 31 on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University. A 22-year-old white male was later identified as the alleged shooter and is facing several charges, including aggravated murder.)
Kelly said she was “willing to try” and got in touch with Owens, who was a friend of Charlie prior to his death, to try and facilitate a meeting between her and Erika.
“I’ve prayed so many times to Charlie, and to God, to give me the right guidance on how to handle this whole thing,” Kelly told the crowd, noting there was a “fracture” within the conservative movement amid tensions between high-profile figures.
Kelly later explained that while Owens eventually agreed to meet with Erika in Phoenix during the Turning Point USA AmericaFest, there was a “security issue” that kept her from attending.
According to Kelly, “Erika said, ‘I’ll go to you. I’ll go to Nashville,’” to try and make the sitdown happen once and for all.
Kelly noted that the plan for Kelly to “moderate” their discussion later “morphed” into “let’s not do the livestream” and they chose to meet up away from any cameras and outsiders.
“They both went in there. Erika brought a trusted friend …. Candace had someone very close to her,” Kelly claimed. “They by all accounts from both women had a very good meeting.”
Kelly wondered, “Now, will it last? Where does it go from here?” admitting she doesn’t know.
“What I really want is for Candace to move on from Turning Point and from Erika,” she concluded. “I have no problem with her asking questions, but not about them.”
Owens, for her part, confirmed via X that she and Erika “had an extremely productive” four and a half hour meeting on December 15 “that I think we both feel should have taken place a lot earlier than it did.”
“We agreed much more than I had anticipated. Of course, we also disagreed on various points and people as well,” Owens shared in a statement that same day. “Most importantly, we were able to share intel and clarify intent.”
She claimed that after the meeting, “The immediate result was that tensions were thawed.”
Erika, meanwhile, opened up about where she and Owens stand during an appearance on Fox News Sunday.
“What I do know is my COO and myself when we walked into that meeting we were very intentional with why we were there,” Erika said on the Sunday, December 21, broadcast when asked about her meeting. “[We] provided what we want to provide to show context and also to show we have nothing to hide. … You just let the Lord do the rest.”
She added, “I pray for her, I pray for her family. … I don’t have time for the noise. I said my peace and that’s it.”
