Two podcast hosts hardly contained their laughter after reading a post on X that made light about “digging up” the dead body of the assassinated Turning Point USA president Charlie Kirk and “doing it again.” Not only was the backlash immediate, but nearly 30 sponsors pulled their support.
During last week’s Thursday episode of their progressive podcast I’ve Had It—titled “Drinking MAGA Tears” and focused on Democratic midterm wins—Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan read the line aloud. Both burst into extended laughter lasting. The clip quickly spread, drawing intense backlash. At least 25 companies (including Cash App, Chewy, Boll & Branch, Zenni Optical, Casper, Honeylove, HexClad and others) pulled or distanced their advertising support, with some explicitly citing opposition to violence of any kind.
It didn’t take long for the hosts to issue an apology. “On Thursday’s show, we laughed at a joke about Charlie Kirk,” they shared on Instagram. “It was an insensitive joke, and we should not have laughed. We regret it, and we apologize.” They added that “whatever our political differences, there is nothing funny about gun violence,” noted their support for gun safety reform, and announced a donation to Everytown for Gun Safety. The segment was later edited out of the episode.
However, many have pointed out that Welch and Sullivan haven’t truly appeared apologetic outside of that initial post. On a subsequent episode and in a video response, they pushed back hard against Turning Point USA, which had helped amplify the boycott. Welch framed the pressure as coming from “all the … babies over at Turning Point” and called the group “losers” who “believe in nothing.” She clarified the apology’s intent: “When we apologize for laughing at a joke on our podcast, that wasn’t for you. That was for us.”
Sullivan directed profane comments at critics, arguing that Kirk’s TPUSA organization supports lawmakers who “protect pedophiles and sex traffickers” and is fine with certain forms of violence. Welch has also labeled Kirk a “vile, unrepentant racist” and previously claimed he had “justified” his own death through past comments on the Second Amendment and school shootings.
“We feel this passionately,” Welch stated on Monday’s episode of the podcast. “Our brand of fighting fascism, and our brand of MAGA slang and Turning Point slang is not for everybody, but it’s for those of you who tune in every single day and support us. You have found a home with us. … We are not going anywhere. … Our movement includes everyone. And Turning Point … can’t say that, can they?”
Then, during a Q&A at an event, she claimed she’s been “getting about 400 death threats a minute on my Instagram.” Yet when visiting the Instagram post that contains the apology, several of the comments include people who were fully supportive of the initial mockery that ensued. And concerning the initial apology, Welch again watered it down. “[D]on’t think I’m going soft,” she said. “TPUSA, Charlie Kirk and their movement—I stand against everything.”
