Erika Kirk addresses JD Vance hug blasted as 'inappropriate' as she points out his 'similarities' to Charlie Kirk

Erika Kirk has addressed all the noise after a hug between herself and Vice President JD Vance was blasted as 'inappropriate' by some people on the internet.

In September, Charlie Kirk was assassinated at an event organized by his company Turning Point USA at Utah Valley University.

Following the right-wing commentator's passing, Erika pledged to 'complete his vision' for the non-profit organization as she became its new CEO.

As a result, Erika has been in the public eye, and is regularly seen with Vance at events.

One of these occasions came at last month at the University of Mississippi as part of the 'This Is the Turning Point' tour where Vance was invited.

The vice president came on stage at one point and hugged Erika before taking to the podium, with the whole interaction being a big talking point.

As they embraced, Erika put her hand on the back of Vance's head in a rather intimate moment which has raised some eyebrows.

Erika has since spoken out on the criticism as she sat down with Megyn Kelly over the weekend.

"Whoever is hating on a hug, that needs a hug themselves, I will give you a free hug anytime you want a hug," Erika said.

Erika went on to say such a hug is her 'love language' and explained the context behind the hug that took place between herself and Vance, which seemingly broke the internet.

"I'm walking over, he's walking over, I'm starting to cry, he says 'he's so proud of you,' and I say 'God bless you,' and I touch the back of his head," the 37-year-old recalled.

Erika continued: "Anyone who I've hugged, I've touched the back of your head when I hug you, I always say God bless you. That's just me. If you want to take that out of context, go right ahead. Again, that to me shows that you need a hug more than anyone else."

Following the JD Vance hug, another series of tight embraces from Erika took over the internet once more after she received the inaugural Charlie Kirk Legacy Award at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards earlier this month.

The 36-year-old was presented with the accolade by country singer Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany, when an embrace similar to what happened with Vance took place.

Reacting to the embrace on X, formerly known as Twitter, one social media user wrote: "It's not a healthy way to hug someone. It's overly familiar. It's intimate. She has poor boundaries."

Other claimed Erika's hugs to be too 'touchy-feely', though fellow social media users defended the Turning Point USA CEO.