Erika Kirk has gone viral for another hug - and divided the internet in the process.
Erika has remained in the national spotlight ever since her husband, Turning Point USA founder and conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, was assassinated during a speaking engagement at a Utah college on September 10.
The Internet was sent into a tizzy after a video of the 36-year-old giving Vice President JD Vance a very tight hug during an event at the University of Mississippi went viral last month. Erika, who has taken over as TPUSA’s CEO, seems to have stunned the internet with yet another series of tight embraces – this time with country singer Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany, according to Parade.
Erika gave both Aldeans a long, tight hug after they presented her with the inaugural Charlie Kirk Legacy Award at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards on Thursday. However, her embrace with Jason left some social media users talking, according to the report.
Footage of the hug shows the country singer rubbing Erika’s back as his wife watches on with pursed lips and what TikTok users have deemed a less-than-enthusiastic look. Some users believe Erika was being “too touchy-feely” with the singer, while others jumped to her defense, noting she is still grieving the loss of her husband.
“Why does she only hug men and married men only?” one social media user wrote. Another user questioned, “Why does she hug everyone’s man for 3-5 business days?”
Some users questioned why Erika appeared to be “happy” in the wake of her husband’s death, while others joked that she was “husband hunting.” “I’m a conservative and I don’t trust her,” another added.
However, plenty of social media users jumped to the widow’s defense, noting she had just recently witnessed her husband’s killing and was likely seeking comfort.
“Erika Kirk is a hugger, it’s not always something else. If you have ever known a hugger, they genuinely hug people differently. I’m tired of the hate on this woman and everything she does being scrutinized,” one person wrote.
“Y’all are doing too much Brittany is clearly showing sadness on her face for Erika not all women are insecure,” another user added.
Another eagle-eyed commentator added, “Okay, if the whole video is watched, she literally hugged Brittany way longer. People get over yourself.”
Footage from Fox News’ website of the award ceremony shows Erika hugging Brittany for about 10 seconds before moving on to hug Jason for approximately 8 seconds.
Despite the perception of some, plenty of users came to the recently appointed TPUSA CEO’s defense.
“She just lost her husband in the worst possible way there is. Just give her grace and let her mourn,” one person wrote.
“She’s trying not to cry. People are always reaching,” another user added. Another chimed in, “People read into things way too much!”
Erika shared an emotional embrace with Vance at a speaking event last month, garnering a similar reaction from the internet.
As the Internet spun into chaos over the intimate moment, body language experts told HuffPost the exchange was “super-intimate,” “comfortable” and “attention-controlling.”
Erika recalled the aftermath of the horrific fatal shooting during a sit-down with "Jesse Watters Primetime," which aired Wednesday night.
She recalled that everyone in the hospital seemed “so rattled” by the brutal shooting, and that a police officer advised her to wait until her husband’s body had been taken to the mortuary before seeing him.
“He was very sweet, but what do you say to someone whose husband just was assassinated so publicly?” she told Watters. “He said, ‘I will never tell you that you cannot see your husband... but I in my professional opinion, think that you should wait to see him... Because I don't think you want to see him like this.’”
“And I responded back to him... ‘with all due respect, sir... I want to see what they did to my husband, and I want to give him a kiss, because I didn't get to give him a kiss this morning.’”
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with multiple crimes, including aggravated murder in Kirk’s death.
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted of Kirk’s murder. He is scheduled to return to court in person on January 16.
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