Kyle Kulinski, a well-known left-wing podcaster, is facing significant criticism online following a controversial meme he shared, which targeted the widow of the late conservative figure, Charlie Kirk.

Kulinski, who hosts the popular YouTube show Secular Talk with over two million subscribers, shared the contentious meme with his 500,000 followers on X during Halloween.

The image in question was a digitally altered Spirit Halloween costume package featuring Erika Kirk. It depicted her with mascara running down her face and chest, clutching an item that resembled a bag or hat stuffed with cash.

Erika Kirk has been frequently observed displaying tearful emotions in public after her husband’s assassination. However, some skeptics have labeled her reactions as insincere.

The edited costume packaging mockingly described her as a “fake grieving widow grifter,” with listed accessories including “fake teardrops” and “skin-tight black leather mourning pants.”

The meme format has been used on both sides of the isle to criticize and mock celebrities and politicians. 

Kulinski also posted another meme in the same style the next day which called House Speaker Mike Johnson a ‘deeply closeted self-loathing homosexual.’

The replies to Kulinski’s Erika meme were overwhelmingly negative. 

Erika Kirk was the wife of late conservative activist Charlie Kirk

This meme was posted by Kyle Kulinsky, host of the Secular Talk podcast, to his half a million followers on X on Halloween. It received massive backlash

One of the top responses was a screenshot of a tweet from conservative political commentator Blaire White which read: ‘No one is requiring you to mourn Charlie Kirk. They’re asking you not to be a satanic piece of sh*t who celebrates brutal murder.

‘The bar couldn’t be lower, and it’s still too high for millions of you. Sick.’

Another reply turned the meme around on Kulinski, with the user posting an edited Spirit Halloween costume package that read ‘garbage human’ next to a picture of the podcaster. 

Others responded with more simple critiques. One user wrote: ‘Awful. Shame on you.’

Another said: ‘Wow, you’re a horrible human being.’

Charlie Kirk was assassinated while hosting an event for his organization, Turning Point USA, at Utah Valley University in September. 

Since then, his wife has taken up her late husband’s role as Chief Executive Officer of Turning Point USA and made several appearances and speeches at public events. 

But some have taken issue with her public mourning, accusing Erika of crocodile tears at public appearances and hamming it up during her first public address after Charlie was killed. 

Since Charlie’s assassination, Erika has taken his role as Chief Executive Officer of Turning Point USA, and she has been criticized for seeming phony during public appearances

Another meme posted by Kulinski the day after the Spirit Halloween costume meme directly alluded to the criticism Erika has faced

Critics have accused her of using Charlie’s death as an opportunity to sell merchandise and expand the reach and influence of Turning Point USA, which she now leads.

Another meme posted by Kulinski the day after the fake costume tweet alluded directly to those accusations. It said: ‘She’s going through the normal five stages of grief: Pyrotechnics, Merch, Podcasting, Grifting, and Acceptance.’ 

The top comment on a TikTok of Erika dabbing tears at a Turning Point USA event after she heard a recording of Charlie’s voice similarly read: ‘Everyone is such a hater. She is clearly going through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, marketing, world-tour, run-for-congress.’

Another comment on the TikTok made the same joke as the fake costume post. It said: ‘Nothing says grief like skin tight leather pants.’

The similarity of the jokes between different users across social media platforms offers a snapshot into the world of prolific memes mocking Erika and Charlie Kirk since the assassination. 

Erika’s behavior has even been criticized by some conservatives, including the far-right podcaster Nick Fuentes, who advocates for Christian nationalism and white nationalist ideas. 

On his show, Fuentes said of Erika: ‘I’m getting this vibe from her that she’s very fake… I don’t really like how they, the whole organization, has been handling his death. Its gratuitous.’ 

Many people who have made fun of Kirk’s death or said it was justified were fired from their jobs in the weeks after the assassination. 

This image of Erika tightly embracing president Trump has fueled many of the negative memes surrounding her since Charlie’s assassination

Kulinski posted this meme two days after the edited Kirk costume meme, seemingly in response to the backlash

The Daily Mail previously reported on an NBA employee who was let go for mocking the killing, a marine who was fired after he mocked Kirk, MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd being fired after making ‘disgusting’ comments on air and many others.  

Kulinski is insulated from employment consequences as he owns the Secular Talk podcast. 

Seemingly in response to the backlash his memes faced, the podcaster made a post on Sunday with an edited image from Scooby Doo that featured the Fred character pulling a mask from a villain wearing a MAGA hat to reveal a snowflake beneath. 

Along with the image, in all caps he wrote: ‘the same right-wing idiots who defended edgy jokes for a decade as soon as the joke isn’t about black or trans people.’