Staff Reports
Jennifer Welch of the I’ve Had It podcast is asking listeners to open their wallets after advertisers fled over a tasteless joke. The hosts laughed about a social post saying “we’re digging up Charlie Kirk,” and the fallout has been loud and fast. Now the show is asking fans to pay for memberships and Substack subscriptions to make up the difference.
The clip that sparked the storm
During an episode of I’ve Had It, Jennifer Welch and co‑host Angie “Pumps” Sullivan read a viral post about digging up Charlie Kirk’s body and laughed. Clips of that exchange spread across social media and, in some versions, the segment was later removed. The joke crossed a raw line for many listeners and advertisers, and it immediately became a public relations crisis for the podcast.
Sponsor fallout and the monetization pitch
Several companies publicly said they were stepping away from the show or reviewing placements. Names reported in coverage include Cash App, Chewy, Boll & Branch and Lola Blankets, though tally numbers vary because some lists mixed active deals with past placements. Faced with sponsors leaving, Welch told listeners they could support the show by becoming paying members on YouTube or subscribing on Substack. Her pitch drew a clear line between the free feed and “financial” membership: “Just to subscribe to YouTube or anywhere you get your podcast is free. If you want to sponsor us financially, you can become a member on YouTube or join us on Substack.”
Apology, donation and Turning Point’s response
Welch and Sullivan posted an apology on the podcast’s Instagram, calling the joke insensitive and saying they made a donation to Everytown for Gun Safety. Their apology read in part that they “regret it, and we apologize… There is nothing funny about gun violence.” Turning Point USA, through spokesman Andrew Kolvet, pushed back on Welch’s account of the fallout and put the blame squarely on the hosts: “You can blame me or Turning Point all you want, but we’re not the reason all your sponsors are fleeing. You are. Just don’t legitimize political violence.”
Why this matters: accountability, hypocrisy, and podcast fundraising
This episode shows how quickly the market reacts when a creator crosses a moral line. Advertisers don’t want to be tied to talk about digging up an opponent’s corpse, and companies moved to protect their brands. Welch’s pivot to paid memberships and a claimed boost in followers — a figure that has not been independently verified — looks like the standard creator playbook: when sponsors leave, ask the audience to pay. There’s nothing wrong with direct support, but don’t be surprised when the audience that cheers edgy humor finds certain jokes unacceptable. In the end, the hosts apologized and gave to charity, advertisers pulled back, and the rest of us got a reminder that some stunts have real business consequences — and not everything that’s politically convenient is wise or funny.
