The battle over Charlie Kirk's assassination just divided the conservative movement down the middle.
Questions about the FBI's investigation keep piling up with no satisfactory answers.
And Megyn Kelly just exploded on critics with a message about Erica Kirk and Candace Owens they'll never forget.
Megyn Kelly unloads on former friends demanding she pick sides
Megyn Kelly unleashed an expletive-filled rant that shocked the conservative media world.
The former Fox News anchor directed her fury at former friends attacking her online for refusing to publicly condemn Candace Owens.
"To the hateful people whom I used to call friends who have been all over the internet trying to shame me and say that no one should ever listen to this program again because I haven't spoken out on the Erika and Candace conflict: I don't have any pearls of wisdom other than go f*ck yourselves. Go f*ck yourselves," Kelly fired off on her SiriusXM show.¹
For three months since Kirk's September 10 assassination, Owens has been investigating what happened to her close friend.
She's raised questions about Egyptian aircraft that Tucker Carlson confirmed were factually tracking Erika Kirk for years.²
Owens documented a "disproportionately large number of foreign registered cell phones" at the Utah Valley University event where Kirk was shot – another fact Carlson verified as true.²
Owens has also questioned official claims about the weapon used, noting many ballistics experts find it unlikely that a 30-06 rifle wouldn't have caused an exit wound and more visible damage at close range.
The FBI and Utah officials haven't helped matters by refusing to provide transparency about their investigation.
FBI Director Kash Patel falsely claimed a shooter had been arrested within hours of the assassination, then retracted the statement 90 minutes later.³
That kind of incompetence from the FBI director himself is exactly why millions of Americans share Owens' skepticism about the official narrative.
Conservative commentators Tim Pool and Ben Shapiro called Owens' actions "evil" for questioning the investigation.⁴
But Kelly refused to join the pile-on, believing both Owens and Erika Kirk deserve to be heard.
"You have no f*cking clue what's going on. You don't know what I do behind the scenes, and your world is so myopically online you fail to understand there are real humans involved here," Kelly said. "Actually being able to touch grass and have relationships with them, which is something I'm doing, could prove to actually benefit all involved. Maybe it won't. Maybe it won't at all, but it's at least got a shot. I'm not sure your Twitter shame game has gotten anything of value done."¹
Kelly's mediation breakthrough delivers real results
Kelly revealed she'd been secretly working behind the scenes for weeks to broker peace between Owens and Erika Kirk.
Erika Kirk contacted Kelly requesting help arranging a face-to-face meeting with Owens.
The two women originally considered making the sit-down public with Kelly moderating.
Plans changed after hitting "roadblocks" in scheduling, and they agreed a private conversation would prove more productive.⁵
Monday's meeting lasted more than four hours and delivered tangible results.
"Had a very productive conversation with @RealCandaceO. More to come from both of us. Looking forward to AmFest this week. Time to get back to work," Erika Kirk posted on X.⁵
Owens called the meeting "extremely productive," saying they "agreed much more than I had anticipated" while also acknowledging they "disagreed on various points and people."⁵
She added that "nothing was held back," they shared intelligence, clarified intentions, and "tensions were thawed."
Owens expressed regret the meeting hadn't happened sooner.
The conversation produced concrete commitments from both sides.
Turning Point USA Chief Operating Officer Justin Streiff and Erika Kirk made clear they were upset Owens had attacked the organization Charlie founded.
Owens had posted on X that Turning Point USA was a "God-forsaken company" and told her followers not to donate to the organization.
On Tuesday's podcast, Owens owned her mistakes.
"I was at a bit of a fever pitch when I tweeted people should not give money to the organization," Owens admitted. "I have to own that. That's aggressive. That is actually aggressive in the retrospect."⁶
She acknowledged her temperament contributed to the conflict.
"Definitely my problem in life is that I can rise to anger very quickly," Owens said.⁶
The meeting produced exactly what Kelly hoped for – two women who loved Charlie Kirk having a real conversation that thawed tensions and produced accountability on both sides.
FBI's credibility crisis fuels legitimate questions
The real issue isn't whether conservatives ask questions about Kirk's assassination.
The problem is the FBI refuses to provide the transparency that would settle those questions.
Tucker Carlson made this point forcefully last week when he broke his silence on the investigation.
"It is the job of the FBI to find out what happened and to tell the rest of us, not hide behind, well, it's national security, confidential sources," Carlson said. "No, tell us what happened. Show us what happened. Convince us what happened."⁷
When the FBI won't be transparent, questions multiply about an agency Americans pay to explain what actually happened.
After the FBI's involvement in the January 6 setup, the Russia collusion hoax, and the Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot, Americans have every right to demand answers.
A December 2024 Justice Department Inspector General report confirmed 26 FBI confidential sources were at the Capitol on January 6, with four entering the building.⁸
None of those FBI informants faced charges despite nearly 1,500 other Americans being prosecuted.⁸
Kelly found herself caught in the crossfire by trying to play peacemaker between two women who both loved Charlie Kirk.
Her strategy of working behind the scenes while staying publicly neutral backfired when former friends demanded she pick a side immediately.
The pressure campaign reminded Kelly of left-wing tactics.
"This faction that's trying to pressure me online feels to me like the Black Lives Matter people — 'Raise your fist and say it!'" Kelly said on the Fifth Column podcast.⁹
Kelly insisted she doesn't believe Turning Point had anything to do with Kirk's murder.
But she also refused to attack Owens for asking questions millions of conservatives share about an FBI that's proven itself untrustworthy.
Kelly's diplomatic approach paid off with Monday's breakthrough meeting that produced real accountability and thawed tensions between two grieving women.
Her profanity-laced response to critics proves she won't be bullied into abandoning that principled position.
The conservative movement needs more people willing to broker peace instead of demanding everyone choose sides in every fight.
¹ Alex Griffing, "'Go F*ck Yourselves!' Megyn Kelly GOES OFF On Critics Trying to 'Shame' Her Over Candace Owens," Mediaite, December 16, 2025.
² "Tucker Carlson: What Bothers Me About The Charlie Kirk Assassination Probe Is That We Are Letting The FBI Off The Hook," RealClearPolitics, December 10, 2025.
³ Tucker Carlson video statement, December 10, 2025.
⁴ Elle Reeve, "Candace Owens won't take back conspiracies about Charlie Kirk's death after meeting with Erika Kirk," CNN, December 16, 2025.
⁵ "Megyn Kelly Facilitated Meeting Between Candace Owens and Erika Kirk," Barrett Media, December 16, 2025.
⁶ Candace Owens, "Candace" podcast episode, December 16, 2025.
⁷ "Tucker Carlson: What Bothers Me About The Charlie Kirk Assassination Probe Is That We Are Letting The FBI Off The Hook," RealClearPolitics, December 10, 2025.
⁸ Department of Justice Inspector General Report on FBI actions related to January 6, December 2024.
⁹ "Why Is Megyn Kelly Afraid to Take on Candace Owens?" The Bulwark, October 9, 2025.
