"These people feed on misery"- Riley Gaines slams hate directed towards Charlie Kirk's wife for smiling during an interview

Riley Gaines slammed a user on social media for belittling activist Charlie Kirk's wife, Erika Kirk, for smiling in an interview. The latter's husband and activist was shot dead on September 10, 2025, at the Utah Valley University Campus.

Kirk was speaking to the crowd when he was shot during an outdoor event at the Utah university, which was a part of his organization's 'The American Comeback Tour.' Two weeks after this tragic incident, Kirk's wife, Erika, sat for a conversation with Real America's Voice, and a picture of her smiling at the interview is making rounds on the internet.

One of the users shared the picture on X and criticized Erika for smiling, writing:

"A grieving widow who just watched her husband get shot to death in front of her and their children two weeks ago btw."

This tweet caught the attention of the former swimmer, Gaines, who was a close friend of Kirk and slammed the user for directing hate towards a widow, penning a message on X that read:

"God forbid a widow smiles when recounting a memory of her husband... These people feed on misery and demand it from others. Ghouls."

Gaines also lauded the governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, for expressing his thoughts after Charlie Kirk's passing.

Riley Gaines made her feelings known about Charlie Kirk's assassination, highlighting the rise in crime

Just a day after the passing away of Charlie Kirk, Riley Gaines sat for a conversation with Fox News, where she mourned the death of her close friend and social activist, Kirk. Calling the society 'sick,' she expressed her disappointment with people taking drastic measures over political disagreement, stating:

"Our society is so, so sick. The truth is hated. How do you possibly coexist with people who genuinely want to kill you for disagreeing with them? And that's exactly, let's be very clear, that's exactly what has happened to Charlie Kirk. They killed a man, a 31 year old father of two, because they disagreed with him politically."

Along with this, she also spoke about the killing of the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zarutska, who was killed in North Carolina. She was stabbed on a train by Decarlos Brown. Reflecting on this, she added:

"I'm pretty shaken, to be honest with you these past few days. I mean, just the the sheer weight of evil has been so heavy across this nation, whether it was the story coming from North Carolina of the beautiful, young, innocent Ukrainian refugee who had her life taken from her at the hands of a monster."

Riley Gaines recently reacted to Erika Kirk's message for Charlie Kirk's assassin.

About the author

An English Honors graduate, Nancy is a journalist at Sportskeeda covering US Olympic sports. She has a total experience of 4 years, having previously worked as a Marketing Executive for BYJU’S before finding her footing at SK.

To deliver the best content, Nancy keeps herself updated by reading as much as possible about the athletes and the sport, and believes that researching and trusting credible sources is the key to reporting ethical and accurate information.

Track and Field events particularly interest Nancy, and she is a fan of Allyson Felix. While she cherished each of her victories, her favorite Olympic moment happens to be the retired athlete’s 10th medal at the Games.

Nancy believes that covering the personal lives and training sessions of the Olympic athletes, and showcasing old podcasts or interviews would help bridge the coverage gap of the sport in its off season.

When away from her keyboard, Nancy spends most of her free time reading books. She also writes poems and plans on publishing a book.

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Edited by Mitali