Popular podcaster Candace Owens has claimed that Erika Kirk's speech about people spreading conspiracy theories about Charlie Kirk having a "mind virus" is about her. Owens has been quite vocal about Kirk's death, sharing multiple theories related to it over the last few months.In a clip shared on her Instagram story on December 12, Candace Owens claimed Erika Kirk was talking about her indirectly. She said:"Okay, super fun show today. You're probably seeing the clips, but Erica has gone off on conspiracy theorists. Obviously, every journalist out there is emailing me because it's it's about me, it's indirect, but it's also about me. And don't worry, in case you think it's not about me, she is going to name check me on stage with Barry Weiss on Saturday."Owens continued: "How do we know? Because our mommy sleuths be everywhere, and they recorded the town hall today, and as soon as the town hall concluded, we got a flutter of emails and what she says about the Egyptian planes. I'm sorry not gonna lie, it's a little suspicious. It's weird. It's a weird response."Candace Owens' comments were about Erika Kirk's mind virus speech in her latest interview with Fox News. She said that those who are spreading conspiracy theories about her husband, Charlie Kirk's death, are suffering from a "mind virus". Her anger towards them is righteous, and their behaviour is not healthy."Come after me. Call me names. I don't care...But when you go after my family, my TPUSA family, my Charlie Kirk Show family, when you go after the people that I love...No...This is righteous anger...It's not healthy. This is a mind virus," Erika said.Erika Kirk is set to be present at a town hall with the editor-in-chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss, on Saturday, December 13, 2025. Candace Owens believes she will name-drop her on stage on that day. Candace Owens claims Erika Kirk should not have become Turning Point USA CEO after Charlie Kirk's deathMemorial Service Held For Slain Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk At State Farm Stadium - Source: GettyIn her eponymous podcast last week, Candace Owens commented on Erika Kirk taking over as the CEO of Turning Point USA after Charlie Kirk's death. Kirk was shot dead with a single bullet in September this year while he was delivering a speech at Utah Valley University. Owens believed Erika should have taken some time before taking over her husband's place and said:"Erica thing is, like you got to be at some level terrified, right? Either the greatest evil that ever happened, or she's terrified. She's in this position. And I think the mistake they made, and I’ve said on my podcast, she should never become the CEO and chairman overnight. Because now when people have questions, you got to answer them, right?"She continued:"You're not just a grieving widow, but you very quickly decided that you were equipped to be Charlie. Well, guess what? That's going to be a trial by fire. Charlie had to go through it. It's painful. And so people are feeling like, hey, it's not fair to ask her any questions because her husband just died."Candace Owens then claimed that TPUSA should have appointed an interim CEO at first and given Erika Kirk some time to grieve. "They should have put in place an interim CEO. Like, that's what any company would do. You would just say, for a couple of months, give everybody time to grieve and kind of address the fact that this is like a new company, and like, we've got to figure things out without the head of the company, you know? So I think they made a managerial error," the podcaster said. After taking over as TPUSA's CEO, Erika Kirk has been focused on promoting Charlie Kirk's message and vision after his death. She also received the Presidential Medal of Honor from Donald Trump after Kirk's death. Kirk is survived by Erika, their three-year-old daughter, and one-year-old son.