Erika Kirk Defends Her Viral Intimate Hug With J.D. Vance as She Exposes Their Conversation: 'My Love Language Is Touch'

Erika Kirk finally disclosed what J.D. Vance told her during their intense onstage hug.

Charlie Kirk's widow addressed the viral moment at a Megyn Kelly Live event on Saturday, November 22.

A few weeks prior, Erika, 37, and J.D., 41, broke the internet for their intimate embrace, which many assumed looked more than friendly.

"My love language is touch, if you will," she told the crowd at the Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix, Ariz., on Saturday. "So I will give you a play-by-play: They just played the emotional video. I'm walking over, [J.D.] is walking over. 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.'"

"They were acting like you touched the back of his a--!" Megyn Kelly joked.

"I feel like I wouldn't get as much hate if I did that!" Erika teased.

At an October 29 Turning Point USA event, seven weeks following her husband's murder, Erika introduced J.D. before he came on stage to speak.

"No one will ever replace my husband," she expressed. "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."

The duo shared a tight hug, with the TPUSA CEO's hands resting on the back of the vice president's head. J.D. then moved his hands to the widow's waist, prompting social media users to debate whether their behavior was appropriate.

"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."

Body language expert Mark Bowden previously told OK! that Erika seemed more into the hug than the vice president.

Her "move to cradle his head and neck is highly significant," as "the head and neck are extremely vulnerable areas," the expert explained. "While this can be an intimate gesture, in this high-stakes public context, it functions as an attention-controlling move. By holding his head, she controls his line of sight and becomes the dominant actor in the embrace, a potential, or even subconscious, move to regain some control."

Meanwhile, J.D. responded to "her controlling head hold" by giving a "double tap" on her back.

"This is a predominantly male-to-male 'buddy' gesture in U.S. culture, its purpose is to non-verbally reframe an interaction. The double tap serves to break the intimacy," Mark said, "as it signals, 'this embrace is not romantic or sexual.'"