Finally! Tucker Calls Out “Rot” At TPUSA. Erika Kirk Forces Another High School Event. | Ep 389

Summary of Finally! Tucker Calls Out “Rot” At TPUSA. Erika Kirk Forces Another High School Event. | Ep 389

by Candace Owens

1h 5m•September 18, 2026
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Overview of Finally! Tucker Calls Out “Rot” At TPUSA. Erika Kirk Forces Another High School Event. | Ep. 389

Candace Owens spends this episode arguing that Turning Point USA has drifted far from Charlie Kirk’s original vision, using recent controversy around a Utah Valley University event, a school assembly in Idaho, and old text messages with Andrew Colvett to support her case. She also highlights Tucker Carlson’s criticism of former Charlie Kirk Show staffer Blake Neff, and raises questions about an August 2025 call involving Erika Kirk, Andrew Colvett, and a documentary company called Empress Films.

UVU Event: Attendance Estimates, Security, and the Ambulance Debate

Candace revisits the September 2024 UVU event where Charlie Kirk was shot, focusing on planning documents and media reports that, she says, clarify why there was no ambulance on standby.

Key points she emphasizes

  • TPUSA’s UVU chapter reportedly checked “no” when asked if EMS/ambulance services were needed.
  • The organization initially estimated 200 attendees, then later 600, while UVU officials said over 3,000 actually showed up.
  • Candace argues this was consistent with TPUSA’s usual “Prove Me Wrong” event style:
    • open to the public
    • unticketed
    • not tightly crowd-controlled
  • She says Turning Point’s later legal/family argument that the lack of ambulance was negligent is inconsistent with the group’s earlier claim that it was a deliberate decision supported by their security setup.

Old Text Thread With Andrew Colvett

A major segment centers on a 2019 text exchange Candace says she rediscovered, which she believes shows Andrew Colvett and Erika Kirk trying to seed a narrative about a feud between Candace and Charlie Kirk.

Candace’s interpretation

  • She says Andrew forwarded her a message supposedly found by Erika on “Groyper”/4chan-type forums.
  • The messages allegedly claimed:
    • Charlie and Candace were in a public feud
    • Candace had left TPUSA because Charlie feared her
  • Candace argues this is important because Andrew Colvett has since publicly claimed Charlie and Candace stopped being friends in 2018/2019.
  • Her conclusion: Andrew is “lying by omission,” and the narrative he now promotes was being circulated privately years earlier.

Idaho School Assembly Controversy

Candace then turns to what she calls a “secret event” at a Christian school in Idaho involving Erika Kirk.

What she says happened

  • Parents allegedly contacted her after learning via newsletter that Erika would speak at a school event.
  • They were reportedly told:
    • the event would not be publicly promoted
    • parents were not allowed to attend
    • students would essentially be required to attend during the school day
  • Candace shares a text she says came from a student:
    • “Big Kirk is here and we can’t leave the school and we’re getting locked in the gym.”
  • Her argument is that this was not an organic TPUSA club event, but a mandated assembly presented to the public as enthusiastic student turnout.

Her dispute with Andrew Colvett

She argues with Andrew over whether:

  • students opted in or were simply required to attend
  • the event was genuinely “secret” or just not publicly marketed

Candace says Andrew eventually concedes it was an assembly, but maintains that:

  • students were able to opt out
  • three did so
  • the rest chose to attend

Candace rejects that framing, saying the point is that the event was built into the school day and was not a voluntary student-led club meeting.

Charlie Kirk’s Vision for Club America

To bolster her argument, Candace plays a clip of Charlie Kirk describing what he wanted for high school clubs.

Charlie’s stated vision

  • Club America should be a grassroots, student-driven movement
  • TPUSA staff should:
    • find interested students
    • help them through paperwork
    • meet parents and school administrators
  • The goal was for chapters to become as normal and automatic as:
    • debate club
    • DECA
  • Candace uses this to argue that school-day assemblies and behind-the-scenes administrative arrangements are a departure from Charlie’s intended model.

Tucker Carlson on Blake Neff and Free Speech

Another major section covers Tucker Carlson’s comments criticizing the mindset of Blake Neff, a former Charlie Kirk Show staffer.

Main themes of Tucker’s remarks

  • Tucker rejects the idea of a “maximalist position on free speech” as a contradiction.
  • He argues:
    • free speech is either defended or it isn’t
    • the answer to bad speech is more speech
    • censorship is dehumanizing and morally corrosive
  • Candace uses this to argue that:
    • newer TPUSA figures are embracing censorship, lawsuits, and power politics
    • this is the opposite of Charlie Kirk’s older, more open-campus-debate approach

Questions Raised About Empress Films and an August 2025 Call

Candace also raises eyebrows over a call she says Erika Kirk and Andrew Colvett had on August 28, 2025 with executives from Empress Films.

Why she thinks it matters

  • She says this company specializes in true crime / murder-mystery documentaries
  • She lists prior projects involving:
    • Ghislaine Maxwell
    • Marilyn Monroe
    • Jill Dando
    • Princess Diana
    • the Gilgo Beach murders
    • Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard
  • Candace says the company’s politics appear left-leaning, making the connection even stranger from her perspective.
  • She asks what Erika and Andrew were discussing with them, and whether it related to a documentary, film, or PR strategy.

Core Takeaways

  • Candace’s central claim is that TPUSA is no longer operating according to Charlie Kirk’s original grassroots vision.
  • She argues the organization now relies on:
    • secrecy
    • institutional pressure
    • media management
    • narrative control
  • She sees a pattern in:
    • the UVU security decisions
    • the Idaho school assembly
    • the old 2019 text thread
    • the Tucker/Blake Neff controversy
  • Her broader message: forcing political ideas on minors or manipulating attendance and optics is wrong, regardless of whether it comes from the left or the right.

Bottom Line

This episode is a long, combative critique of TPUSA’s current leadership and communications strategy. Candace uses receipts, old messages, school emails, and Charlie Kirk’s own words to argue that the organization has become more top-down, less transparent, and increasingly at odds with Charlie’s original “voluntary, grassroots” model.