Candace Owens has recently released a video call featuring Erika Kirk, who was addressing employees of Turning Point USA shortly after her husband, Charlie Kirk, was tragically killed. On her widely-followed YouTube show, Owens stated that this was the first time Erika used the phrase, “Everyone grieves differently.” Owens criticizes Erika and TPUSA for turning this phrase into a “well-financed PR campaign” aimed at deflecting critical questions. During the September 16 call, Erika, now 37 and serving as TPUSA’s CEO after her husband’s death, adopted an encouraging tone, urging her team to support one another.

Erika, a mother of two who recently lost her husband, lightened the mood by joking that “weddings and funerals bring out the weirdest side of people,” advising staff not to overanalyze their colleagues’ actions. Owens, who has been increasingly critical of Erika since Charlie’s passing, accused the TPUSA leader of trying to stifle any questioning of her leadership as they organized his memorial service in Phoenix, Arizona. Owens remarked, “You can’t question why. If this is Charlie’s vision, he’s dancing in heaven watching how students who worked tirelessly for him organized the memorial events.”

Although Owens once described Kirk as her “best friend,” she has been relentless in her campaign against Erika and TPUSA, presenting it as a quest for “truth” and “justice.” Owens argues that Erika is manipulative, creating an emotional dependency among TPUSA employees by calling them a “family.” Owens claims to have spoken with unhappy TPUSA staff and alleges that the organization laid off employees who worked long hours, despite raising significant funds—about a quarter of a billion dollars—after Kirk’s death. In the leaked video call, Erika encouraged the staff, saying her husband would not want them “sitting on the couch alone in your room” but rather “building” towards the future.

Owens responded by critiquing Erika’s framing as cult-like while adding that TPUSA staff were ‘manipulated’ by her rhetoric. The podcast host aired a separate conference call earlier this week in which Erika praised staff after the Charlie Kirk memorial on September 21. During the call, Erika said that Kirk was watching TPUSA from heaven and would be proud of their achievements. She told staff she was optimistic about the future, while acknowledging that her enthusiasm might sound odd in the tragic circumstances.

‘It’s weird to say that I’m excited. I really hesitate saying that. It’s a really weird thing to say. But I think it comes from a space of peace knowing that God’s using this and we’re humbly witnessing the gospel in real time,’ Erika said on the cal. Owens responded: ‘All of this makes my skin crawl.’ The podcaster has accused the widow of using Charlie’s legacy to promote and enrich herself, and take TPUSA in a direction its late founder never intended. Erika has not directly responded to Owens’ repeated attacks, but last month slammed ‘evil’ conspiracy theorists for making spurious claims linking TPUSA to Kirk’s assassination.

She pointedly told Fox News on December 10: ‘When you go after the people that I love, and you’re making hundreds of thousands of dollars every single episode, going after the people that I love because somehow they’re in on this? No.’ Erika also held a face-to-face discussion with Owens that appeared to result in a truce, which has since proved short-lived. A spokesman for Owens told the Daily Mail on Wednesday: ‘Erika violated the “truce” when she and Andrew Kolvet [Executive Producer of the Charlie Kirk Show] got caught, red-handed, orchestrating PR attacks against me recently. That’s how we arrived at this moment.’

The spokesman alleged that Erika had ‘fired employees, without cause, after moving management to press them about their perceived loyalty to her.’ Owens’ camp further claimed that the TPUSA chair had avoided responding to ‘meaningful criticism regarding her executive actions and behavior.’ Kirk was shot dead during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on September 10.Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with his murder. The Daily Mail has contacted TPUSA for comment.