When political activist and podcast host Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a speaking event at Utah Valley University, he left behind his life’s work with Turning Point America, and his wife, Erika Kirk, and their two small children. No one is denying that leaving two kids without a father is heartbreaking, but Erika is still alive and well, and people have turned their attention, or daggers, at her.
In a clip of Erika that went viral on TikTok, she is seen wiping her eyes at a Turning Point USA event in November 2025. And, by all accounts, there is nothing wrong with that.
The issue here is that, according to some of Erika’s harshest critics, of which there are plenty to go around, she is using some sort of “tear solution” to make herself cry about late husband Charlie.
I’m not here to determine if that’s true or not, but I am here for the speculation, because come on. The wilder theories the better for internet fodder.
@teq.uilamockingja #maga #scam #trump #America ♬ original sound – Teq.uilamockingjay
Erika Kirk’s tears don’t seem totally genuine to some people.
The event, per the New York Post, was Erika’s first Turning Point USA campus appearance since Charlie’s death in September 2025. She appeared on-stage and even embraced Vice President JD Vance in a hug that was captured on camera and saved across social media. The speculation on that is for another day, though.
In the TikTok where the user who uploaded the video claimed that Erika used a tear-inducing solution to make herself cry before she went on-stage at the event, she appears to dab at her eyes before she leaves the backstage area.
Because the footage is blurry, though, it is entirely possible that she is wiping actual tears away before she heads out to speak to the crowd.
That didn’t stop people from claiming otherwise, though.
One user in the comments under the TikTok wrote that Erik is giving “Tammy Faye Bakker vibes.” This is in reference to long standing rumors that the televangelist pretended to cry for attention in the public eye and that her tears were always fake.
On another TikTok about the same fake tears theory, someone commented about “tear sticks.” These are typically menthol-infused sticks that are wiped near the eyes to induce tears.
There has been no confirmation of Erika using anything like that, and she could just be using a tissue to dab at her eyes in the original viral video.
But this isn’t the first time she has been accused of crying fake tears.
Back in September 2025, shortly after Charlie was shot and killed, people began critiquing Erika on social media.
In a Threads post about allegedly fake tears, with another reference to Tammy Faye Bakker, someone commented, “Tammy Faye’s mascara had the decency to run when she cried her fake tears.”
