Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan are learning an expensive lesson: mocking the dead might generate laughs from your political audience, but it can also cost you the companies paying your bills.
The hosts of the progressive podcast I've Had It are facing a growing advertiser exodus after laughing at a disturbing joke about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
During a recent episode, the two women read a social media post joking about digging up Kirk's body and killing him again. Rather than expressing disgust, both hosts laughed.
The backlash was immediate.
More than 20 sponsors have reportedly abandoned or distanced themselves from the podcast, with some reports now putting the number at approximately 30. The exact total remains unverified, and not every company named was an active advertiser when the controversy began.
Among the brands that have publicly cut ties, ended advertising relationships, or ruled out future partnerships are:
Cash App — Confirmed it was no longer sponsoring the show.
Chewy — Condemned violence and said it neither sponsors nor supports the podcast.
Honeylove — Ended its advertising partnership.
Casper — Confirmed its sponsorship had ended.
iRestore — Severed ties and canceled future advertising.
Nobl Travel — Confirmed it was no longer a sponsor.
HexClad — Said it was no longer advertising and had no future placements.
Zenni Optical — Reportedly ended its advertising relationship.
Jones Road Beauty — Reportedly withdrew its advertising.
Ethos — Confirmed it ended its advertising relationship.
Ember Mugs — Reportedly pulled its sponsorship.
ZipRecruiter — Confirmed it had no future advertising placements.
Other companies, including Boll & Branch and Monarch Money, clarified that they were not current sponsors. Monarch said its advertising relationship had ended in September, before the controversy.
The commercial fallout has become so serious that Welch and Sullivan have begun encouraging supporters to purchase YouTube memberships and books to help financially support their operation.
The hosts eventually issued an apology, acknowledging that the joke was insensitive and that they should not have laughed. They also announced a donation to Everytown for Gun Safety.
But an apology doesn't erase what millions of people witnessed.
Charlie Kirk was a husband, a father, and a human being whose life was taken through political violence. His family is still living with that loss. Regardless of whether someone agreed with his politics, turning his assassination into a punchline is cruel, unnecessary, and morally indefensible.
There is also a troubling contradiction worth examining.
Some commentators who proudly identify as progressive, compassionate, and committed to social justice appear willing to abandon those principles when the victim belongs to the opposing political camp.
We have seen examples of public figures on the left making light of Kirk's death, treating his assassination as an opportunity for political mockery rather than recognizing the human tragedy.
That behavior deserves criticism, not because every progressive thinks this way, but because compassion that disappears when someone disagrees with you is not compassion at all.
Political disagreement should never become a justification for celebrating murder.
And advertisers have every right to decide that their money should not support that kind of rhetoric.
Welch and Sullivan may believe they are victims of a politically motivated cancellation campaign. But the companies leaving their show are making their own decisions about what conduct they are willing to associate with their brands.
You cannot build a platform around preaching tolerance, laugh about a murdered political opponent, and then act surprised when the people financing your platform decide they've had it.
