Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder, got a sweet tribute at the start of the All-American halftime show for the Super Bowl game today. The organization he founded came up with the alternate show amid an ongoing row over Bad Bunny singing in the NFL program.
Kid Rock headlined the TPUSA act, with performances from the likes of Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett.
Charlie Kirk, family get tribute at TPUSA show
Jack Posobiec, longtime friend of Charlie Kirk, kicked off the halftime show saying ‘This one's for you Charlie’. He had long pushed for the TPUSA alternate show as well.
One social media user also paid sweet tribute, writing “This is for Erika, Charlie and their family.”
{{/usCountry}}One social media user also paid sweet tribute, writing “This is for Erika, Charlie and their family.”
{{/usCountry}}Performers too paid their tribute to Kirk. “Charlie gave people a microphone so they could say what's on their mind…this is on mine,” Brice said during the halftime show. The second song was dedicated to Kirk. The third act of the evening spoke about Charlie Kirk before performing his second song. It slowed down the tempo again as he played the acoustic guitar.
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Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on September 10, 2025, when attending an event at the Utah Valley University. His wife, Erika, has since taken over as TPUSA CEO.
Meanwhile, there were several calls to boycott the Bad Bunny performance at the Super Bowl halftime show. Interestingly, Jake Paul who lives in Puerto Rico called for a boycott. His brother, Logan, too made it clear he would not be watching Bad Bunny's performance.
President Donald Trump reportedly was to skip the Bad Bunny performance as well. The controversy over the Puerto Rican artist began the moment the NFL announced him as this year's performer. While Bad Bunny is making history as the first solo artist singing primarily in Spanish, his comments on ICE, even at the recent Grammy Awards has sparked outrage.
The TPUSA show was by all accounts a success, with YouTube logging over 5 million views at the time of writing. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said on X “The Hegseth family is watching.”