Democrat activist Jennifer Welch has witnessed numerous advertisers drop her “I’ve Had It” podcast after she cackled at a joke about Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder, when she was reading social media comments from fans.
Kirk was fatally shot Sept. 10, 2025 while speaking to a crowd of 3,000 at Utah Valley University. Famous for his face-to-face debates with liberal students on university campuses, Kirk was holding an outdoor event when he was shot through the neck by a sniper's bullet. He died minutes later enroute to the hospital.
Kirk’s violent death sent shock waves through his close friends and many fans. His grieving friends and fans said an admired political voice, an outspoken Christian man, and a devoted husband and father had been assassinated while exercising his First Amendment rights.
On the other political side, many Democrats - from school teachers to military members - said a dangerous fascist and a vile racist had been killed, and the world was better off for it, they insisted.
On her Nov. 5 show, Welch read a social media comment related to Kirk’s murder that said, “We’re digging up Charlie Kirk and doing it again.”
Not only did Welch laugh at the joke, the clip of that scene shows her laughing before she finished reading the comment. With co-host Angie Sullivan laughing, too, Welch was laughing so hard her body was shaking and she dropped her head and couldn’t continue.
Once the host and co-host gained their composure, Sullivan doubled down on the joke by claiming Kirk was shot and killed by a “MAGA person,” referring to accused killer Tyler Robinson.
That claim, which has become a left-wing talking point, has been fact-checked and debunked by liberal news outlets CNN and Vox.
The backlash against Welch and her show came from Turning Point itself, in particular spokesman Andrew Kolvet.
“I don't know where, when, or how, whether in this life or the next, but Jennifer Welch will regret being an ugly, demonic witch who laughs at the murder of an innocent man,” Kolvet wrote in an X post.
Kolvet seemed to take his own comment seriously. He quickly used the reach of social media to launch a grassroots campaign and urge the “I’ve Had It” sponsors to drop the show after Welch’s and Sullivan's behavior.
In a Nov. 8 X post, independent journalist Sarah Fields reported that 20 sponsors had announced they had dropped Welch’s show after being contacted and urged to do so. Some sponsors have confirmed their cancellation, the post stated, and others were reported to have dropped the show.
It was not clear how many sponsors had dropped Welch and Sullivan, but it was obvious they were feeling the financial pain because they lashed out at Kolvet and Turning Point.
Tim Graham, of the Media Research Center, has been following the controversy online. He said he appreciates the advertisers for agreeing a joke about Kirk’s death is a bridge too far, but he wonders why some of them sponsored Welch, who is known for making hateful comments.
“You had to know that this was who you were supporting,” Graham said. “There's nothing kind and compassionate in this woman.”
With sponsors jumping ship, Welch returned to the podcast with an apology over laughing at the Kirk joke. She also claimed the advertisers were being “harassed” into dropping her podcast, and she said the apology was not for Kolvet and Turning Point.
“That was for us,” Welch said, mentioning Kolvet by name.
Welch also announced she had made a donation to Everytown, an anti-gun organization, as if Kirk is dead from the World War 2 Mauser rifle Robinson stole from his grandfather rather than Robinson's own text messages stating he was killing a hateful fascist.
On that same podcast, Welch also praised Minocqua Brewing Company, a Wisconsin-based brewery. The business had signed on as a new advertiser to demonstrate support for the show, the liberal host stated.
The website for Minocqua is a treasure trove of left-wing ideology, including a beer called "The Resistance" and another called "Fighting Oligarchy." A portion of products are donated to "progressive causes" and "reproductive rights," the company states.
After looking into the brewery, Kolvet discovered Minocqua has also pledged to give away free beer if President Trump is ever assassinated.
“You can’t make this stuff up,” Kolvet wrote.
