Erika Kirk did not appear during Turning Point USA controversial American half-time show during the Super Bowl 2026 on Sunday, February 8, but the event paid tribute to her late husband, the founder of TPUSA. Charlie Kirk.
After Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice i Gabby Barrett all performed at the event organized by right-wing conservative group TPUSA aired a tribute to Charlie, who was shot and killed in September 2025 at the age of 31.
As a slide show of photos showing Charlie, Erika, 37, and their family pedaling on screen, a voiceover from the conservative pundit played.
“I want to honor God in everything I do,” Charlie said. “I want to be a great husband, a great father, I want to serve this country. I want to try to continue to lead this movement.”
The tribute ended with Charlie’s voice saying, “More often than not you choose the deep, the hard, but the right path over the easy path is what will reward you, your family and this beautiful nation.”
Then a title card appeared on the screen that said, “In loving memory of our founder and CEO, Charlie Kirk,” with a Bible quote just below.
TPUSA’s halftime show started on time, before the NBC Super Bowl broadcast even went commercial, despite a last minute change which took the performance out of one of the most prominent social networking apps.
“UPDATE: Due to licensing restrictions, we are unable to stream The All-American Halftime Show on X,” the organization announced. via X a few hours before the performance. “Go to our YouTube channel tonight at around 8pm ET to watch the full show.”
Erika Kirk (née Frantzve) celebrated her 37th birthday with a throwback video of her late husband, Charlie Kirk. “I always loved celebrating you, and maybe because it was a reflection of how amazing you always celebrated me,” Erika captioned an Instagram video on Thursday, Nov. 20. “I romanticized growing old with you, the love of (…)
TPUSA announced his alternate halftime show in October 2025, after the NFL announced it Bad Bunny would be headline the Super Bowl 60 halftime show. The organization promised, at the time, a show based on “faith, family and freedom.”
Erika added in an interview with Fox News published earlier this month that it will serve as a reminder of her husband’s memory.
“It’s powerful because what Charlie always loved and knew was that he wanted to be at the forefront of the culture war,” she said. “I would be very excited about it. I would be very excited. And what better way to honor him than to be in the middle of it and be able to provide an alternative for families.”
She continued, “It’s all ages, and so to be able to offer an alternative that’s pro-America, that’s just pro-everything, that’s not the opposite of what they’re putting out there. I don’t want to go into detail and criticize it because apparently there’s an audience that wants that, but there’s a bigger audience that wants ours.”
Kid Rock also chimed in, expressing in a February 2nd statement that he was eager to face the “Pro Football Machine.”
“We intend to play great songs for people who love America,” he said. “We approach this show like David and Goliath. Competing with the machine of pro football and a global pop superstar is almost impossible…or isn’t it?”
He added, “(Bad Bunny) said he’s having a dance party, wearing a suit and singing in Spanish? Great. We intend to play great songs for the people who love America.”