What Really Went Down Between Erika Kirk & Carrie Underwood

Plenty of celebrities reacted to Charlie Kirk's death after the shocking shooting at Utah Valley University in September 2025, but Carrie Underwood was not one of them. Many social media users don't know that, though. That's because the country star was the victim of a viral fake story that accused her of throwing shade at Charlie's widow, Erika Kirk, whose national prominence skyrocketed following his untimely death. On November 1, 2025, an X account shared a fake article that claimed Underwood added fuel to the "grifter" allegations against Erika. "I won't fake sympathy," the "Before He Cheats" singer was quoted as writing in a social media post.

However, Underwood never made such a statement. The fake news was likely started by those who are critical of how Erika carried herself after Charlie's death. She has faced a slew of criticism for being so busy and keeping an upbeat demeanor while mourning. Erika has indirectly responded to some of the backlash, arguing that the grieving process isn't linear. "One day you're collapsed on the floor crying out the name Jesus in between labored breaths. The next you're playing with your children in the living room," she wrote on Instagram.

If Carrie Underwood has any opinions about this, she hasn't made them public. That hasn't kept netizens from speculating. The fact that Underwood keeps her political beliefs to herself but performed at the second inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2025 has made her a target for this sort of speculation.

Underwood's fabricated jab at Erika Kirk wasn't the only fake news that the singer faced in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's death. Another false story claimed that Underwood and her husband, Mike Fisher, paid tribute to the right-wing activist at his memorial. Stories even paired the claims with AI-generated pictures that showed the couple comforting Kirk's father. "In that unbearable stillness, Carrie Underwood and her husband stepped forward, voices trembling with sorrow, as they performed 'Hallelujah,'" an Instagram post claimed.

The viral story was easily debunked. Another similar post claimed that Underwood had shared Kirk's last words, contending she had spoken with him a day before his assassination. "It was as if he knew ... and now I can't unhear it," she was quoted as saying in a Facebook post. However, there is no evidence that Underwood and Kirk even knew each other. Besides, the post contended that Underwood made the remarks at Kirk's funeral, offering a timeline that gave away the fake news.

"What a sick post — he hasn't even had a funeral yet," a Facebook user commented on September 12, 2025, nine days before Kirk's funeral service was held. Beyond the obvious signs that the stories were made up, it is highly unlikely that Underwood would take such strong stance with such a polarizing figure. "I try to stay far out of politics if possible, at least in public, because nobody wins," she told The Guardian in 2019.