NEWSCandace Owens Claims Video of Erika Kirk's Tearful Reaction During the WHCD Shooting Was 'Staged to Go Viral'
Charlie Kirk's widow was filmed in hysterics amid the shooting chaos.
May 8 2026, Published 4:54 p.m. ET
Candace Owens believes the video of Erika Kirk tearfully fleeing the White House Correspondents' Dinner after a gunman opened fire was "staged."
During the Thursday, May 7, episode of her show, the conservative political commentator claimed a "political operative" told her they were "positioned in advance with the specific instruction to take that exact video at that exact place at that exact time."
Owens, 37, explained, "The operative was allegedly in communication with digital media teams and the entire moment was staged, captured and then intentionally shared amongst those digital media teams and their operatives whereupon it was made to go viral."
CNN reporter Sara Sidner posted a video of Erika Kirk with security.
Candace Owens didn't reveal who filmed the video.
The podcast host went on to insist "every instinct is [telling her] the video was staged," declaring she "didn't buy that Sara Sidner of CNN, who initially put the video online, recorded it."
In a post on Instagram, Sidner shared the clip of Kirk, 37, being escorted to safety after shots rung out at the high-profile event in Washington, D.C., on April 25.
The widow of slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk could be heard saying, "I just want to go home."
'Someone Sold Her Grief'
Candace Owens accused Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet of staging the video.
Candace continued, "She [Sara] said she was there around when Erika walked out, but I felt that she likely had that sent to her to post online."
The conspiracy theorist questioned whether the mother-of-two was aware she was being filmed or not and suggested a spokesperson of Charlie's nonprofit Turning Point USA was behind the video.
"Maybe it was Andrew Kolvet," she said. "And Erika really had no idea. Someone did it without her knowledge or did it without her consent. Someone sold her grief. How terrible would that be?"
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Charlie Kirk's chief of security filed a defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens for accusing him of conspiring to kill his boss.
Candace's latest claims come after Charlie's former chief of security, Brian Harpole, filed a defamation lawsuit against the far-right influencer and her source Mitchell Snow on April 30.
The lawsuit centers on allegations made by Mitchell on Candace's podcast that Brian and Erika met with high-ranking military officials at Fort Huachuca in Arizona a day before the fatal shooting last fall to "plan the murder.”
The controversial podcaster has repeatedly publicly questioned the official story of her friend Charlie's assassination, which took place during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025.
Suspected shooter Tyler Robinson is facing the death penalty.
During an episode of her show last December, she declared, "I now can say with full confidence that I believe Charlie Kirk was betrayed by the leadership of Turning Point USA and some of the very people who eulogized him on stage."
Tyler Robinson was charged in the fatal shooting of the conservative media personality. The alleged assassin is believed to have shot Charlie at a distance from a nearby rooftop.
Utah prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against him.
