Charlie Kirk’s murder has supplied Jennifer Welch with a punchline and Minocqua Brewing Company with an opportunity to offer support. A man was murdered while speaking in public. More than a year later, grown adults are still finding ways to make his death useful to their politics.
Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10, 2025, during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Whatever anyone thought of his arguments, he had every right to make them and return home alive. His politics and Christian faith required no permission from the people who despised him.
On the November 5 episode of I’ve Had It, Welch and co-host Angie Sullivan laughed at a social media post about digging up Kirk and killing him again. They were responding to someone else’s words. Their own contribution was the laughter.
Calling such conduct evil is a moral judgment I’m comfortable making. Laughing about repeating an assassination treats the victim’s humanity as something political enemies can revoke. The imagined second killing supplies the amusement precisely because the first one really happened.
The hosts subsequently apologized, saying, “It was an insensitive joke, and we should not have laughed.” Several advertisers distanced themselves from the podcast. The apology acknowledged the central failure, and they had a chance to show they understood it.
UPDATE: 30 companies have now confirmed they will not advertise on the “I’ve had it” podcast after hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan laughed at Charlie’s m*rder: Cash App Chewy Boll & Branch Zenni Optical Momentous Honeylove Casper HexClad Ethos Branch Basics Ladder Nutrafol Jones Road Beauty ZipRecruiter PAKA Ember BetterHelp Primal Queen Monarch Money iRestore HomeServe Ridge Wallet Lola Blankets NOBL Travel Dupe One Skin IQbar Quince Cozy Earth ASPCA
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 10, 2026
Then came Minocqua Brewing, a Wisconsin company owned by Kirk Bangstad. A company post called Kirk an “awful human being,” disparaged people defending him, and offered to partner with the podcast after it lost sponsors. Producer Kylie Josey read the message aloud.
Welch responded, “That is so sweet.”
Jennifer Welch says her advertisers were "harassed" into dropping the show. "Sadly, some of the advertisers have caved. But we still have other advertisers, and we're still standing." Little companies are apparently stepping in to try to save them. They read a message from a brewery in Wisconsin that called Charlie Kirk "an awful human being" and wanted to help sponsor the show. Welch called that "so sweet," then did a shout out for the company for free. At last count, around 30 sponsors have dropped the podcast. It's not because they were harassed. It's because these women are toxic. But hey if you're a little company, just drop these hateful hags a message bashing Charlie. Maybe that'll get you a free ad read.
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 10, 2026
Sweet?
Seriously?
The brewery’s offer explicitly excused the laughter by attacking the dead man’s character. Welch welcomed support packaged with a fresh helping of contempt for the person whose murder had prompted her apology. Apparently, kindness becomes easy to recognize when someone offers to help cover the advertising bill.
Minocqua Brewing’s argument is especially rotten. Calling Kirk names can’t establish that laughing about his assassination was acceptable. The company offered no moral defense of the conduct. It simply announced that it disliked the victim enough to stand with the people laughing.
I’ve written about Bangstad before, including his brewery’s promotion offering free beer when President Donald Trump dies and its subsequent remarks after an assassination attempt. Political death talk has already served this company’s public identity. The latest offer continues a record Wisconsin has had ample opportunity to examine.
Recommended: Minocqua’s Loudest Brewer Wants Wisconsin’s Biggest Job
Welch also accused Turning Point USA of orchestrating a cancellation campaign. She can criticize that campaign, and advertisers can decide whether they want their money associated with her show. Complaints about commercial consequences don’t answer the original question: What made a murdered man’s imagined second killing funny?
Kirk’s opponents had opportunities to challenge his claims, dispute his theology, question his conclusions, and persuade his audiences. Public disagreement allows all of that. Murder ends the victim’s opportunity to answer. Mocking him afterward lets his detractors perform for one another without the inconvenience of hearing him respond.
The apology should’ve led to reflection. Instead, Welch embraced an offer that justified the laughter through another attack on Charlie. Minocqua Brewing volunteered to make that case under its business name.
Character becomes visible when an opponent is vulnerable, and the audience rewards contempt. Restraint costs something in those moments. Welch and the brewery chose approval from people who already shared their hostility.
Kirk’s family must live with his absence. Welch and Minocqua Brewing can choose what they say next. They could acknowledge the cruelty plainly, withdraw the excuses, and stop making a dead man’s humanity contingent on political agreement.
Their conduct has earned condemnation. Charlie Kirk’s murder never needed their approval to be an evil act.