Advertisers pull spots from podcast after hosts laugh at Charlie Kirk joke, Chappelle draws fire for Kirk line at Madison Square Garden

Pet retailer Chewy has pulled its advertisements from the podcast "I've Had It" after hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan laughed at a joke about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to Business Insider. Other advertisers followed. Welch and Sullivan issued an apology on Instagram.

The same weekend, Dave Chappelle told a Madison Square Garden crowd, mid-run on his "Karmageddon" tour, that he has felt better "ever since that guy Charlie Kirk got murdered" — adding that he knew he shouldn't say it publicly. A 29-second clip of the remark circulated on X, with the audience audibly laughing. Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025; a 23-year-old man has been charged.

No regulator, court or government agency intervened in either case. The consequences arrived through advertisers and booking ledgers: Chewy and its peers reviewed their placements, and conservative commentators — journalist Benny Johnson calling the routine "not even comedy" — applied pressure where it costs, at sponsors and venues. Katie Miller tagged Live Nation in a post asking whether the company stood behind the performance. Turning Point USA's Andrew Kolvet answered Chappelle with a Bible verse.

This is how speech boundaries now move in practice. A comedian prices a punchline against lost sponsors; a podcast host learns that laughter on tape is a contract clause. The state is not in the room — the sales department is.

Chappelle's arena dates, meanwhile, remain sold-out business as usual.