The Hollywood star Tim Allen of Home Improvement and Last Man Standing fame is speaking out to reveal how Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika inspired him to finally forgive his father’s killer over sixty years after his death.
Allen Inspired By Charlie Kirk’s Widow
“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, 72, wrote on social media.
“I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my Dad,” he continued. “I will say those words now as I type: ‘I forgive the man who killed my father.’ Peace be with you all.”
The conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed earlier this month by 22 year-old Tyler Robinson. At Charlie’s memorial service last Sunday, his widow Erika publicly and powerfully forgave her husband’s killer.
Erika said that her husband “wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life.”
“Our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do.’ That young man … I forgive him,” Erika stated. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it’s what Charlie would do.”
Allen’s Father’s Death
Allen’s father was killed by a drunk driver back in 1964. The drunk driver reportedly collided with his vehicle. Allen was only 11 years-old at the time of his dad’s death.
“My dad had taken six kids and my mom to a Colorado football game and on the way home, middle of the afternoon, a guy swerved across the I-70,” Allen recalled in a 2006 interview on Inside the Actors Studio.
Allen went on to say that his father “broke his neck and died in my mom’s lap, right there.”
Allen himself wasn’t in the vehicle at the time.
“I generally would have been with him. This is one of those days I went down to the neighbor’s [house],” he revealed.
Needless to say, this incident had a profound impact on Allen’s life.
“If you haven’t had a death in your family, it changes every single thing … from your cells and DNA turns a different color,” he explained. “Every single thing in my life changed. I knew the moment he was dead, he was dead, and it was not for four hours that I found out.”
Allen Knew Something Was Wrong
While appearing on “The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe” podcast back in May, Allen admitted that he knew something was awry on the day his father died. However, he didn’t know exactly what.
“I’m walking down to my house, knowing something terrible had happened even though I didn’t know it,” he remembered. “I get to the house, there’s police and my uncle was there and said, ‘Man up, your mom needs you right now, so no crying.’”
Allen managed to overcome this devastating tragedy to become one of the greatest comedians of all time. Indeed, he’s still making people laugh on his sitcom Shifting Gears, which airs on ABC.
The world is still in mourning over the brutal murder of Charlie Kirk. We applaud Allen for speaking out to praise Charlie’s widow while much of Hollywood continues to be silent about his death.
Please join us in saying a prayer for Erika, her two children, and the rest of the Kirk family!