Erika Kirk has found herself at the center of another controversy after making remarks about young women putting more effort into getting married and having children. The Turning Point USA CEO made the comments during a keynote address at Hillsdale College’s 174th commencement ceremony.

Online critics were quick to call out the remarks, with some branding them hypocritical given Erika’s demanding role at TPUSA while also raising two children.

Erika Kirk’s Remarks Were Branded Hypocritical

Erika delivered a noteworthy speech during her visit to Hillsdale College. However, online, the address appeared to rub some people the wrong way, particularly the portion directed at young women.

The mother of two encouraged female graduates to marry young, adding that they are “called to nurture, to build, to shape lives with wisdom and endurance.”

After clips of her remarks went viral, some social media users criticized the comments as hypocritical.

“Dishonest Erika should get off her soapbox and be a mother to her kids,” one person wrote.

“Um…maybe focus on your own family first before making suggestions for other people,” another individual commented.

Others argued that the current economic climate made Erika’s message unrealistic and difficult to embrace.

“This message doesn’t mean much when very few people can afford to have a family right now. She means well, but it’s just not realistic,” another X user said.

Erika Also Advised The Graduates To Be Different

Elsewhere in her speech, Erika urged the graduates to prepare for a world that may promote ideas different from what they already believe to be true, per Little Things.

“In many ways, it will challenge it. It’ll distort it. And at times it will oppose it. That’s good. Challenge is a good thing,” she said.

The polarizing figure told them that their “responsibility is not to reflect the world,” adding that doing so would prevent them from making a meaningful difference in it.

Erika also described her husband, Charlie Kirk, as a “fantastic blueprint” for choosing a path different from what the world expects.

Erika Kirk Urged Graduates To Pursue Purpose

Still offering advice to the graduates, Erika told them that when they aim higher, they should aim at “worthy things.”

Doing so, according to her, would help ensure that they live life as “purposeful” beings.

“Purpose is not something that just drifts into your life. It is formed through what you attend to, what you think about, what you return to when your thoughts start to wander over and over again,” she said.

Emphasizing her point, Erika also noted that “over time your thoughts become your priorities,” which ultimately determine one’s direction and, eventually, one’s life.

Erika Faced Pushback Over Arizona School Visit

While Erika’s appearance at Hillsdale College went smoothly, the same could not be said of her visit last month to a high school in Phoenix, Arizona.

Ahead of the occasion, students raised concerns, with several claiming that Erika’s remarks are often “too extremist for a school.” As The Blast reported, others argued that there were “better representatives” with less controversial viewpoints who could have been invited instead.

Parents also voiced concerns about the visit, including one who claimed it could create “division” within the school.

“It’s not just your average citizen coming over to speak to the club. She brings politics with her, she brings division with her, just because everybody in America is divided,” the parent said.

Erika Kirk’s School Event Was Moved Off Campus

Following complaints from students and parents, the school decided to move the event off campus.

The decision was announced in an email from high school president Jeremy Richards, who noted that Erika’s visit could cause a disruption.

“Ms. Kirk’s team, in collaboration with Club America and school and district administration, recommended that the event be moved to an off-site location after the school day,” the email read, per USA Today.

Explaining the decision not to cancel the event outright, Richards said the school wanted to continue honoring “the legal protections afforded to student-led organizations.”

However, restrictions were put in place, including limiting attendance to Club America members and allowing each attendee to bring only one invited student guest.