Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and his wife Erika were left shaken by a controversial article published by feminist website Jezebel just two days before his assassination, journalist Megyn Kelly revealed on her podcast this week.Speaking on The Megyn Kelly Show, the broadcaster said the couple were “genuinely rattled” after reading a piece that boasted of hiring witches on Etsy to put a hex on Kirk.
“Erika and Charlie contacted a friend…and asked him to come over and pray with them over Charlie. The night before he was murdered,” Kelly said, describing their response as rooted in Christian faith and fear of the article’s spiritual implications.As per Newsweek, Kelly spent the opening of her programme criticising Jezebel for publishing the piece, which detailed payments to online witches for so-called spells aimed at bringing Kirk misfortune. The article, published on 8 September, mocked the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder as a “far-right misogynist” and described curses such as “Make Everyone Hate Him” and a “Powerful Hex Spell.” One practitioner even claimed to burn a photo of Kirk and promised results within three weeks, a timeline that overlapped with his killing.According to New York Post, the Jezebel writer admitted uncertainty about the ethics of the act but justified it by saying it would be wrong to “let him keep talking.” The author later suggested the intent was satirical and not a call for harm. Nonetheless, the Kirks were so disturbed that they turned to prayer.Two days later, Kirk was fatally shot in the neck while addressing thousands at Utah Valley University during the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour.” The gunman, identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was later arrested.Following the assassination, Jezebel added an editor’s note condemning the attack, insisting: “We do not endorse, encourage, or excuse political violence of any kind.” The article was later removed, with the outlet citing staff safety amid a “tense and volatile environment,” Newsweek reported.Kelly has since demanded that Jezebel and Etsy apologise to Erika Kirk for causing “distress in what would be the waning hours” of her husband’s life. She also urged Etsy to ban the sale of curses, saying the platform should return to “arts and crafts and jewellery.”At a memorial service, Erika Kirk told mourners she had forgiven her husband’s killer. “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love,” she said, vowing to continue leading Turning Point USA in his honour.
