Erika Kirk Says She’d Get ‘More Hate’ If She Grabbed J.D. Vance’s Butt During Viral Intimate Hug

Erika Kirk gave a cheeky response to haters of her intimate hug with J.D. Vance.

Charlie Kirk’s widow, 37, finally addressed her viral embrace with the vice president, 41, at a Megyn Kelly Live event on Saturday, November 22.

Host Megyn Kelly teased detractors for “acting like [she] touched the back of his a–.”

“I feel like I wouldn’t get as much hate if I did that,” Erika joked.

She further defended the moment by explaining how her “love language is touch.”

“So I will give you a play-by-play: They just played the emotional video. I’m walking over, [J.D.] is walking over,” she told the crowd at the Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix, Ariz., on Saturday. “I’m starting to cry. He says, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ And I say, ‘God bless you,’ and I touch the back of his head. Anyone whom I have hugged, that I have touched the back of your head when I hug you, I always say, ‘God bless you.'”

At an October 29 Turning Point USA event, Erika introduced J.D. before he came on stage to speak.

“When our team asked my dear friend, Vice President J.D. Vance, to speak today, I really prayed on it because, obviously, it’s a very emotional, emotional day,” she expressed. “But I could just hear Charlie in my heart. I could just hear him say, ‘Go reclaim that territory, babe.’ The battle’s already won. God’s love conquers. And that’s why I’m here today.”

She added, “No one will ever replace my husband. But I do see some similarities of my husband in J.D. — in Vice President J.D. Vance. I do. And that’s why I am so blessed to be able to introduce him tonight.”

Fans were puzzled when they saw the TPUSA CEO’s hands resting on the back of the vice president’s head, and his hands around her waist.

“Erika Kirk with an inappropriate greeting in Mississippi — a romantic like bear hug and over the top hair grab on J.D. Vance,” one user wrote. “Too passionate. She has had virtually no grieving period either. Charlie’s parents will not talk to her. Something is up with her.”

In a Wednesday, November 5, interview, Erika lamented how she feels like the media is always watching her.

“There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered,” she said. “There have been cameras all over my friends and family, mourning. There have been cameras all over me. Analyzing my every move, analyzing my every smile, my every tear. We deserve to have cameras in there. Why not be transparent? There’s nothing to hide. I know there’s not, because I’ve seen what the case is built on. Let everyone see what true evil is. This is something that could impact a generation and generations to come.”