Tim Allen says Erika Kirk’s words at her husband’s memorial service stirred something in him he had carried for decades.
On Thursday, the actor posted on X that he was “deeply affected” by Erika’s public forgiveness of Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
“When Erika Kirk spoke the words on the man who killed her husband — ‘That man … that young man … I forgive him’ — that moment deeply affected me,” Allen wrote.
He admitted forgiveness had not come easily in his own life. “I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my Dad. I will say those words now as I type: ‘I forgive the man who killed my father.’ Peace be with you all.”
Allen’s father was killed in 1964 by a drunk driver when the actor was just 11 years old.
At Sunday’s memorial service, Erika Kirk told mourners her husband’s killer would also have been someone Charlie sought to save. Quoting scripture, she declared, “Our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do.’ That young man … I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it’s what Charlie would do.”
Charlie Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Robinson, 22, was arrested and now faces charges including aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering.