Alo faces potential legal trouble after Erika Kirk's clothing purchase history turned into viral smear
High-end athleisure brand Alo could face legal trouble after Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk’s private purchase history was allegedly leaked and used to smear her.
A TikTok content creator recorded a now-viral video this week claiming he received an email from "someone who works at Alo" who looked up Kirk’s account and found that she spent over $1,000 the day after her husband was assassinated. The TikTok creator, who displayed the receipt online, mocked Kirk over the timing of the "shopping spree."
The influencer – @markosbits on TikTok – insisted the leaked receipt would "completely ruin Erika Kirk’s entire story," and suggested that it proved she wasn’t grieving the morning after her husband was assassinated. The account has nearly 900,000 followers and the video has been viewed over 8 million times.
The stunning invasion of privacy quickly emerged as fuel for others to further torment and abuse Kirk. On Thursday, TPUSA staffer Elizabeth McCoy took to social media to explain that she purchased the clothes because Kirk was forced to quickly board a plane after learning her husband had been assassinated at Utah Valley University.
ERIKA KIRK’S STANDOUT FOX NEWS MOMENTS ON GRIEF, FAITH AND THE TRUTH SHE’S FIGHTING FOR
"I was the one who made the Alo purchase, in person, in Utah. When we got the call that Charlie had been shot, we rushed from the office and into the airplane. We arrived in Utah with nothing but the clothes we were wearing. We were in those clothes all day at the hospital and slept in them that night," McCoy wrote.
"The next morning, our friend Stacy handed me her card, and I went out and picked up some items and toiletries for various team members and Erika. Alo was down the street," McCoy continued. "To accuse Erika or anyone else of entertaining a ‘shopping spree’ hours after her husband was brutally murdered is cruel and vicious."
McCoy called the campaign against Kirk a "planned, manufactured attack."
A Turning Point USA insider confirmed to Fox News Digital that the items were purchased for staffers who rushed to Utah without extra clothing.
Alo did not immediately respond to a series of questions, including whether it would investigate who leaked the receipt and if the company finds it appropriate to share a customer’s purchasing history.
The influencer who posted the receipt, allegedly sent by an Alo employee, has been extremely critical of Kirk and previously called her a "crazy b---h" on TikTok.
ERIKA KIRK SAYS LATE HUSBAND'S FINAL BOOK NOW FEELS LIKE HIS 'LAST WORDS' TO HER
Attorney Danny Karon, author of "Your Love lovable lawyer’s guide to legal wellness," said that retail stores can’t freely disclose your purchasing history to just anyone.
"The level of protection they owe you depends on how they use your data, who they share it with, and which state’s laws apply," Karon told Fox News Digital.
Utah, where the Alo purchase was made, enacted comprehensive consumer privacy legislation in 2023. The Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UPCA) allows retailers to share or sell customer purchasing data to third parties so long as the retailer’s privacy notice discloses this practice and allows consumers to opt out, according to Karon.
"Consumers aren’t permitted to bring UCPA claims; only the Utah attorney general can. But no matter, because what happened to Erica Kirk wasn’t a share or sale as contemplated by the UCPA, meaning Alo may not take refuge in it," Karon said.
"Instead, what happened was a privacy breach that gives rise to several common-law -- as opposed to statutory, like the UCPA -- claims, such as public disclosure of private facts, breach of contract, intrusion upon seclusion, doxxing and negligence," Karon continued. "And even though Kirk is not a Utah resident, because her Alo purchase occurred in a Utah brick-and-mortar location and the disclosure occurred in Utah, personal jurisdiction over the parties exists in Utah, as does the application of Utah law. This means, she may file her case in Utah under Utah law."
Karon said that the Federal Trade Commission Act also prohibits deceptive or unfair practices, meaning "if a retailer promises not to share your data but does, they could violate federal law."
ERIKA KIRK HAS ‘NOTHING TO SAY’ TO THE MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING HER HUSBAND
TPUSA did not immediately respond when asked if Kirk plans to take legal action.
Alo's X account is locked as private amid the controversy, but some Kirk supporters have taken to Instagram to scold the company for leaking private information.
"I am so sorry that you all have to deal with this viciousness," conservative pundit Dana Loesch responded.
"SCUM. An @aloyoga employee leaked a customer’s private purchase history to smear her—after those items were bought in the immediate aftermath of one of the most HORRIFIC MURDERS in American HISTORY, when there was no time to grab anything but the clothes on their backs," podcaster Alex Clark posted on X.
"Alo REFUSES to apologize and NOW LOCKS THEIR TWITTER ACCOUNT. You are a despicable company and this is PREDATORY behavior," she continued. "Alo needs to make a statement immediately-do you or do you not prey on conservative customers?"
OutKick’s Mary Katharine Ham, who tragically lost her first husband in 2015, explained that sometimes it’s important to "feel human and look presentable" in clothes that don’t have memories attached following a crisis.
"It is insane they have to defend or explain this, but since people are intent on making them do so, let’s use it as a teachable moment. If your loved one dies far from your home and you rush to them, you will need clothes. I am contacted by people in crisis (or their friends) often about how to help, and sending comfortable matching sets they can wear from couch to funeral home to probate court is one of my tips," Ham wrote.