Turning Point USA Spox Andrew Kolvet speaks out as Jennifer Welch, Dave Chappelle mock Charlie Kirk's murder
Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet is firing back at "I've Had It" podcast hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan and comedian Dave Chappelle for making light of Charlie Kirk's murder in recent days.
"We're not asking people to, you know, be evangelical Christians here. We're asking don't celebrate, condone or glorify political violence. Don't be happy when someone's assassinated. It's a very, very low bar," Kolvet told Fox News Digital in an interview.
Last week, Welch and Sullivan sparked backlash for laughing uncontrollably while reading an online post that read, "We're digging up Charlie Kirk and doing it again" as they celebrated Democratic victories in the 2026 midterms.
After several sponsors pulled their ads, Welch and Sullivan issued an apology, though Welch later insisted it wasn't meant for Kolvet or others offended by the mockery, saying the apology "was for us."
"Pro tip, an apology is for the other person," Kolvet reacted to Welch. "It is for people that you've aggrieved and hurt. It's not for you, unless you're a narcissist. And then I guess it is about you. So, that was pretty shocking."
Several sponsors have dropped the podcast since Welch and Sullivan's laughing fit went viral over the past several days. Though he said neither he nor TPUSA were behind what he calls the "grassroots" boycott movement against the podcast, he celebrated the decision reached by various companies once associated with the show.
"I'm generally not pro-cancel culture, but I also believe that these brands get their own free speech," Kolvet said. "These brands get to have the speech to say, 'I don't want to be associated with somebody that celebrates the murder of an innocent man because of his politics.'
"I'm not asking for Jennifer Welch to be imprisoned. I'm not asking for her to not have a show or to be able to express her opinions. ... All I'm saying is it's not that hard. Don't celebrate political violence," he continued.
"Don't laugh at it. Don't rub it in our faces that one of the most important people in the conservative movement in the country for Gen Z was murdered in cold blood. Don't do it. Don't be a ghoul, don't be vile, don't spew that venom and don't perpetuate that culture.
"Cause when you do, you're participating in something very dark and brands, consumers, Americans all have a right to say what they feel about your antics and your behavior," Kolvet added.
He said Welch's "apology" ended up doing more harm to her and her podcast than good and rejected her assertion that the boycott movement was TPUSA attempting to wage war on her podcast.
"Nobody's done this to you, Jennifer. You've done this to yourself," he told Welch. "I don't expect you to listen to me but maybe, just maybe you will listen to all those brands who no longer want to be associated with you."
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Despite Welch's "petty" insistence that she would never sit down with him, Kolvet said he would "totally sit down with her."
"I wouldn't do it for content. I would sit down in a closed-door space, and my heart would be open, and I would be generous and gracious to her and hope that it would be a fruitful conversation," he said. "My expectation for that is infinitesimally low, but certainly I would be open to that.
"You know, Charlie modeled that," Kolvet continued. "He was willing to talk to anybody. He was willing to talk to people that hated his guts. ... But Charlie wanted to have those conversations because he knew that once conversations stopped happening, that's when violence happens.
"And, so, our conversation, our debate is an escape hatch," he added. "It's a release valve for the tensions in our culture. And, you know, hopefully she changes her mind and her posture about having conversations with people that don't agree with her completely."
Regarding Chappelle, Kolvet said he has no intention to "speech police him" but that what he told a crowd at Madison Square Garden that he "feel[s] better" after Kirk's assassination was "a really crazy thing to say."
Kolvet hearkened back to the nation's response to the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, saying he learned from reports at the time that only one obscure comedian cracked a joke about it at a Los Angeles comedy club. He noted that the joke "bombed" and pointed out that the Academy Awards ceremony was delayed by a day out of respect for the recovering president.
"Ronald Reagan was not a popular president in the media in 1981. He was much maligned, as a matter of fact, but the country as a whole understood that political assassination is an evil, evil thing," Kolvet said.
Kirk defended Chappelle in 2022 after a man attacked the comedian while he was performing at the Hollywood Bowl after controversy over his jokes about transgender people.
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"Charlie saw the writing on the wall," Kolvet told Fox News Digital. "Charlie was always warning against the rise of political violence, warning against the rise of assassination culture. And, obviously, it's deeply disappointing that Dave Chappelle couldn't return those sympathies to Charlie when Charlie lost his life.
"We need to be kind to our fellow Americans," he continued. "We need to wish the best for them. We need to hope for their safety and that just because I disagree with you politically doesn't mean that I wish ill upon you or physical harm. As a matter of fact, I hope you're safe, and I hope that you live a long life and I hope I can convince you on the merits of my arguments, or you can convince me of yours.
"But political violence is not something to be toyed around with, and our culture literally depends on us having a bright line right there," Kolvet said.
"I want to live in a culture where comedians don't even tell those jokes because they know nobody's going to laugh," he added. "And that's the best way to make sure that we're not replaying the same scene a hundred times more in the future."