Candace Owens has criticized Erika Kirk’s Vanity Fair profile and accused her of giving the magazine extensive access declining to support an independent review of her husband, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Owens, in posts on X, questioned why Erika allowed Vanity Fair to interview her children, in-laws, employees and her mother over four months but did not direct Turning Point USA to participate in the Utah Valley University (UVU) independent review into Charlie Kirk’s killing.
Vanity Fair published a detailed profile titled “ The Widow’s Peak ,” focusing on Erika Kirk’s transition from a private figure to the CEO of Turning Point USA following her husband’s death.
The UVU independent review examined security failures surrounding the event. The report found concerns about planning, security assessments and communication failures before and after the shooting. Kirk’s family has criticized the university and indicated plans for legal action. The Vanity Fair article stated, “That is the question I set out to answer. I spent time with Erika’s team at Turning Point’s headquarters in Phoenix, with her children, friends, and pastor in Scottsdale, and everyone from Turning Point’s top donors to its youngest members during multiple trips to Washington, DC. Further below the article noted Erika’s interview where she talked about her dead husband. The Vanity Fair profile also explored Erika’s grief, faith and role as a mother while leading one of America’s most influential conservative youth organizations. Charlie Kirk’s mother Kathryn Kirk has also pushed back against rumors of family conflict with Erika.
“Across hours of interviews, Kirk spoke with remarkable candor about the most intimate details of her husband’s death,” the Vanity Fair article read. The article said she faced pressure from supporters, critics and conspiracy theories surrounding her husband’s death. She said the family grew closer after the tragedy and denied claims of a dispute over Charlie’s legacy. “We were 100% behind her,” Kathryn told Vanity Fair.
Over four months earlier this year, I was given unprecedented access to Kirk, her mother, and Charlie’s mother, who has never before spoken to the media.
