Erika Kirk Seemingly Blames Viral Hug With J.D. Vance On Her 'Love Language' After Facing Scrutiny

Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, has finally cleared the air on her viral hug with Vice President J.D. Vance, which sparked heated debate online.

During an appearance on Megyn Kelly's arena show, the Turning Point USA CEO shared that she was surprised by the reaction to the hug.

Erika Kirk also revealed what she actually said to J.D. Vance during the hug, which she described as an "intense" moment, after the VP said he was "proud" of her.

Erika reacted to the online furor surrounding her and Vance's hug during an October 29 Turning Point USA event.

The pair had met on stage and held each other in a tight embrace, with Erika gently placing her right hand at the back of the vice president's head. This swiftly led to backlash and criticism, with many claiming the CEO was being disrespectful to Vance's wife, Usha.

Now, addressing the viral moment, Erika noted to a large crowd at Kelly's live show that it all boils down to her "love language."

"My love language is touch, if you will," she began, per People Magazine. "So I will give you a play-by-play: They just played the emotional video. I'm walking over, [JD] is walking over. I'm starting to cry."

Erika continued, "He says, 'I'm so proud of you.' And I say, 'God bless you,' and I touch the back of his head," she continued. "Anyone whom I have hugged, that I have touched the back of your head when I hug you, I always say, 'God bless you.'"

During their chat, Megyn Kelly mocked the internet's reaction to Erika and Vance's hug, noting, "They were acting like you touched the back of his a-s!"

In response, Erika agreed, saying, "I feel like I wouldn't get as much hate if I did that!"

The CEO has since raised eyebrows for hugging men and women the same way, with another controversial moment being her hug with country music star Jason Aldean.

The pair met on the stage of the Fox Nation Patriot Awards, where Erika accepted the inaugural "Charlie Kirk Legacy" award.

Before receiving the award, the grieving widow pulled Aldean in for a hug, while giving the singer a subtle back rub.

Again, this was met with backlash, with many highlighting that she did it right next to Aldean's wife, whose face seemed less than amused by the act.

In another part of her conversation with Kelly, Erika made a candid revelation about the moment she learned that her husband had been killed.

According to the 36-year-old, she and Kirk had been talking about having more children, so when she was told about his murder, she hoped that she was pregnant with their third child.

"We wanted to have four," Erika told the journalist. "And I was praying to God that I was pregnant when he got murdered. I was like, 'Oh goodness, that would be the ultimate blessing out of this catastrophe.'"

Due to the loss of her husband at such a young age, Erika shared that she now advices women not to "put off" having kids.

"You can always have a career. You can always go back to work. You can never just go back to having children, and they grow so fast and so quickly," she noted, adding, "I was praying, both of us were, we were really excited to just expand our family."

During a recent interview with Jesse Watters on his show, "Jesse Watters Primetime," Erika spoke about the ways her life changed following the death of Kirk, noting how she has handled explaining the whereabouts of the late right-wing activist to their two young children.

"You told your children that Charlie was going on a work trip with Jesus. Are they still asking, 'where's daddy'?" Watters asked Erika.

"Yes, my daughter continues to ask, but it's really sweet, because I keep explaining to her a few things," she responded.

Erika continued, "I said if ever you want to talk to daddy, you just look up to the sky and start talking to him. He can hear you. It's always good. And I told her, I said, You know, 'Daddy, daddy is in heaven.' She goes, 'Do you think I could go sometime?' I said, 'Baby, we will all go one day. We will all go one day.'"

During her chat with Watters, Erika revealed that she refused to appear on Jimmy Kimmel's show, where she would have seemingly received an apology from the comedian over comments he made about her husband's killer.

Kimmel had come under fire days after Kirk's killing for saying that the "MAGA gang" was pointing fingers at everyone but themselves regarding the affiliations of Tyler Robinson, the suspected shooter.

Speaking with Watters, Erika revealed that the late-night show host's network had contacted her about appearing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" However, she refused, as she felt it was none of her business.

"I told them thank you, we received their note. This is not our issue. It's not our mess," the TPUSA CEO said, while also criticizing Kimmel over his attempt at apologizing to her.

"If you wanna say I'm sorry to someone who's grieving, go right ahead. But if that's not in your heart, then don't do it. I don't want it. I don't need it," Erika added, per The Blast.