Tim Allen was 11 years old when his father was killed by a drunk driver in 1964. More than 60 years later, the actor said he now forgives the man responsible after hearing Erika Kirk’s emotional eulogy.
In a stadium filled with tens of thousands of people, Erika Kirk — Charlie Kirk’s widow — delivered a tribute during the Sept. 21 memorial service. She directly addressed her husband’s killer in front of the crowd.
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“That young man — I forgive him,” she said. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did and what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love, and always love — love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
Allen said those words unlocked something he had carried since childhood. In a post on X Thursday evening, Allen wrote, “That moment deeply affected me. I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my Dad.”
Reaction to Allen’s message
The actor’s post quickly went viral. By Friday afternoon, it had nearly 10 million views, with comments from users sharing their own experiences of grief and forgiveness.
One user wrote, “Tim, I too was deeply affected as I was 8 years old when my father was killed… Erika’s strength came from the Lord. She has shown me the path. I hope the Lord will help us both find peace.”
Allen’s post also drew wide attention in Christian communities online.
“I have been Christian all my life,” one user said, but I admit I have always struggled with the turn-the-cheek, forgive-my-enemies part.”
Meanwhile, on Reddit’s r/Conservative forum, some debated the meaning of forgiveness in light of both Allen’s comments and Kirk’s eulogy.
“[Forgiveness] doesn’t mean that you expect the state to forgive them,” one user explained. “You can forgive a murderer and still want them placed on death row. There’s a long tradition of Christian societies not viewing this as a contradiction.”
Remembering his father’s death
Allen’s father, Gerald Dick, was killed while driving home from a Colorado football game with six of his children and his wife in the car. While Allen himself wasn’t in the car, he detailed the incident in a 2006 interview on “Inside the Actors Studio.” Allen explained that a drunk driver swerved across I-70 and landed on top of the vehicle.
“Every single thing in my life changed,” Allen said. “I knew it the moment he was dead, and it was not for four hours that I found out. I knew the moment that I’ve hated November since then. I’ve hated dust since then. I’ve hated fall since then.”
