People Can't Stop Talking About This 1 Word Erika Kirk Accidentally Blurted Onstage

Erika Kirk had an ironic slip of the tongue during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest this weekend.

While presenting the inaugural Charlie Kirk Courage Award to Utah Valley University student Caleb Chilcutt on Saturday, the right-wing activist’s widow got tongue-tied and said: “Despite the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk, my incredible husband at UVU, Caleb has persisted with the same grift.”

After trying to correct herself, Kirk said “gift” and then finally got to the word “grit.”

“It has been a long day!” she said before turning to Chilcutt and telling him, “Trust me, you’re not a grifter, honey. It’s all good.”

The gaffe didn’t go unnoticed by critics of Kirk, who have been accusing her of capitalizing on her husband’s death in the wake of his high-profile assassination in September.

“This is the greatest Freudian slip of all time,” author Richard Hanania noted on X.

Erika Kirk: “Despite the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk, my incredible husband, at UVU, Caleb has persisted with the same grift, excuse me, grit…”

This is the greatest Freudian slip of all time. pic.twitter.com/WMLhCqhnrg
— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) December 21, 2025

@richardhaniana / Via Twitter: @RichardHanania

“Erika Kirk, a grift that keeps grifting,” Canadian comedian Deven Green, who portrays Mrs. Betty Bowers (America’s Best Christian) online, wrote on BlueSky.

“Erika Kirk for the win. Closes out the year as the queen of one of the all time worst Freudian slips,” attorney and documentarian Gary Douglas wrote on Threads.

Following Charlie Kirk’s death, Erika Kirk became the face of Turning Point USA, and embarked on a marathon of media appearances where she vowed to continue her late husband’s mission of promoting a nativist, fundamentalist Christian view of society.

Watch Kirk’s verbal fumble around the 7:00 minute mark here.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.