And as expected, very few people tuned in relative to the 135.4 million viewers who watched Bad Bunny’s, making it the most-watched halftime show in Super Bowl history.
The Turning Point show was pre-recorded, and it seemed to have a small studio audience of about 100 people or so.
In fact, the audience was so small that even Turning Point CEO Erika Kirk was not in attendance.
Erika Kirk accepts the inaugural Charlie Kirk Legacy Award onstage during the 2025 Fox Nation Patriot Awards at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on November 06, 2025 in Greenvale, New York. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
Across social media, viewers expressed their surprise at the fact that Erika was not in attendance.
Now, Erika has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to share her thoughts on the show — but she still didn’t explain why she wasn’t in the audience.
“The @TPUSA All-American Halftime Show was so incredible,” she wrote (via The Sun).
“Charlie would’ve absolutely loved it. Thank you to the millions that tuned in,” Erika continued, adding:
“I’m so proud of our entire team, staff, and the artists who believed in the vision and mission @KidRock @brantleygilbert @leebrice @GabbyBarrett_.
C.E.O. and Chair of the Board of Turning Point USA Erika Kirk sits silently onstage during the 2025 New York Times Dealbook Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
“It’s okay to love Jesus and your country,” she concluded.
We’re starting to think Erika didn’t even watch the livestream.
“Reports indicate X usage got so high during the TPUSA All-American Halftime Show, the platform was down for brief moments,” conservative commentator Eric Daugherty wrote on X.
“We broke the internet! WE RUN THE CULTURE NOW!” he continued.
But as many users pointed out, the All-American Halftime Show wasn’t even available to stream on X.
“False. TPUSA said in a statement it would not be shown on X due to licensing issues,” reads a community note on Daugherty’s tweet.
We can see why Team Turning Point might be feeling a bit embarrassed this week. After all, Erika predicted that the All-American Halftime Show would draw a “larger audience” than Bad Bunny.
To be fair, she was only off by about 129 million viewers.
Yeah, it’s tough to compete with the Super Bowl — which is why pretty much every other media figure on the planet has the sense not to try.
Lawmakers got a look at unreleased, unredacted copies of the Epstein Files, featuring bone-chilling emails as well as witness statements, victim statements, and investigative reports.
According to these lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, some very powerful men — including those in government — are incriminated and could be prosecuted based upon the contents of the documents.
They also reveal how appallingly young some of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims were — sharing more than the public already knew. But will justice prevail?
Representatives Thomas Massie, Republican from Kentucky, and Ro Khanna, Democrat from California, speak to journalists outside the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on February 9, 2026. (Photo Credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
The deeper into the Epstein files that lawmakers delve, the worse that it gets
On Monday, February 9, some lawmakers were permitted to begin reviewing the millions of Epstein-related documents.
These include documents that have not been released to the public, despite the law mandating their release. Additionally, these files are unredacted.
Also on Monday, Representative Thomas Massie and Representative Ro Khanna held a press conference to discuss their initial review of these documents.
Massie is a Republican. Khanna is a Democrat. In a better world, exposing Epstein’s co-conspirators in full would be an uncontroversial, bipartisan issue.
In an even better world, Epstein and his associates would never have felt untouchable enough to commit their crimes in the first place.
The fixation upon “little girls” is pervasive in the Epstein documents. (Image Credit: Department of Justice)
“The core issue is that they’re not complying with … my law, because these were scrubbed back in March by Donald Trump’s FBI,” Khanna pointed out.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, a bipartisan law passed in July and signed by Donald Trump, required the release of all of the appropriate documents.
Trump’s administration has simply refused to comply. The man himself has repeatedly complained that the American people haven’t let go of these horrible crimes.
Massie shared that an individual is “pretty high up in a foreign government” is among those in the files. (It is unclear if he meant Peter Mandelson, who has resigned in disgrace as Keir Starmer’s Chief of Staff, or yet another individual)
Additionally, Massie urged Trump’s DOJ to “correct their mistakes.” Mistakes is a generous term.
“I loved the torture video” remains a deeply chilling line from the Epstein documents. But who sent it? (Image Credit: Department of Justice)
The DOJ has indicated that there won’t be prosecutions based upon the documents
Khanna and Massie revealed that at least six men are likely incriminated in the files.
To be clear, they mean that in legal terms — men who could and should be prosecuted based upon the contents of the files, rather than the men who had the poor taste to associate with Epstein at all, to cheat on their wives, etc.
Another lawmaker, Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin (D), shared that he felt shaken by previously unreported young victims mentioned in the Epstein files.
“You read through these files, and you read about 15-year-old girls, 14-year-old girls, 10-year-old girls,” he told the press.
He added: “I saw a mention of a nine-year-old girl today. I mean, this is just preposterous and scandalous.”
According to experts, this apparent reference to a 9-year-old may have been a file formatting error when converting thousands of Epstein emails to PDF. If so, the victim was 19, which is still bad. (Image Credit: Department of Justice)
At least one (publicly released) apparent mention of a 9-year-old appears to have been a formatting error.
As anyone who has spent time copy-pasting text on the internet can attest, some aspects of formatting get lost in translation. The same is true when converting thousands upon thousands of emails into PDF.
(Also, Epstein and his associates appear to have a propensity for an extremely high typos-to-text ratio)
It is unclear if Raskin is referring to that likely formatting error, or to another mention of a 9-year-old.
We shouldn’t breathe a sigh of relief if this particular woman was 19 at the time, however. Epstein and his associates were evil men who used their power to turn women and girls into victims. Being an adult would not make her immune to this.
Representatives Thomas Massie, Republican from Kentucky, and Ro Khanna, Democrat from California, speak outside the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on February 9, 2026. (Photo Credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
The only hope for justice will be electing officials who care about right and wrong, and never repeating 2024
Khanna and Massie’s pushback has achieved some results already.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s personal attorney who is now Deputy Attorney General (because why hide corruption if you don’t have to) has unredacted one document that the lawmakers highlighted.
“We have just unredacted all non-victim names from this document,” Blanche tweeted.
He then claimed without evidence: “The DOJ is committed to transparency.”
It is clear that the continuing pressure from the public and from politicians is at least partially working. But if we want answers, we’ll need to keep it up.
And if we want justice, we’ll need to elect people into power who actually care about right and wrong.
Lady Gaga has nothing but gratitude for Bad Bunny.
Hours after the “Abracadabra” singer made a surprise appearance in his 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show on Feb. 8, she expressed her appreciation… E! Online (US) – Top Stories
The name of this pie might make it seem as if it’s made from a sandy by-product of woodwork. But rest assured, it’s a sweet, nutty, and entirely edible pie.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
On Monday, the comedian returned to host her self-titled talk show, Sherri, for the first time since news broke that her syndicated series was going to wrap up later this fall.
The episode was marked Shepherd’s first time back as host since she contracted COVID-19 in early February.
Sherri Shepherd attends her Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony on November 3, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images)
“I know that you have seen the news, and I’m ready to address it,” Shepherd began by telling the audience and viewers at home. “Our show has not been renewed for another season. I wanted to say to y’all, try not to faint or fall out, because healthcare is expensive and none of us have it anymore.”
The veteran star went on to express her gratitude for the “outpouring love” she’s received since this decision went viral, “from the audience, to everybody on social media, to people who stop me in the store and still talk to me despite me not having a wig on, they still talk to me.”
Shepherd continued as follows:
“I want to thank you for laughing and crying with us. Thank you for supporting my unhealthy obsession with Lenny Kravitz. But I’ve got to tell you, when I first started, this show was built on one thing, and what I wanted it built on was joy. The intention of this show, always, was my prayer for you to leave happier than when you came.
“And you know this, I talked about this. It has been my dream to have a talk show, and I’m so grateful I had the chance to do it for four seasons.”
Sherri Shepherd poses for photos during her Hollywood Walk of Fame star unveiling ceremony in Los Angeles on November 3, 2025. (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)
It was announced on February 1 that Sherri had been canceled.
The show will continue filming at Chelsea Studios in New York City until the finale episodes air this fall, although Shepherd vowed on air this morning that she’s “not ready to throw in the towel on this show just yet.”
We’re just not really sure what she means by that.
“I’m not. I’m not,” Shepherd said on the topic. “We’re going to be airing episodes all through the fall. And we’re going to continue to fight to keep this show alive in some way, shape, or form. If anybody knows me, they know I’m a fighter. I don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like, but I promise, I am going to continue to spread joy.”
Maybe via a podcast or something? We really don’t know right now.
Sherri Shepherd attends “Tyler Perry’s Straw” New York Screening at The Plaza on June 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
The actress concluded the episode’s opening monologue by telling all future guests pPlease don’t be trying nothing crazy” and then joked:
“I don’t want you coming [and] talking about you, in solidarity, want to run across the stage naked.
“My supervisor and producer Norman Baker, he said he’s got plans on streaking on the last day. I want security to watch Norman Baker because I don’t want to see all of that. My best friend, Kym Whitley, said she’s bringing an empty suitcase so she can steal stuff from the green room.
“She said she’s got dibs on all of Whoopi’s shoes in the room. Security, I need you to watch her, too.”
She’s an icon, she’s a legend, she’s Lisa Rinna. So when The Traitors star comes to the round table with a beauty recommendation, we listen. And she’s shared the SPF that she calls, her “favorite… E! Online (US) – Top Stories
Out with the old, in with the new.
Kim Kardashian certainly knows that to be true, as she debuted a brand-new hairstyle in honor of the 2026 Super Bowl on Feb. 8.
Her hairstylist Chris Appleton… E! Online (US) – Top Stories
Lindsey Vonn is speaking out following a harrowing experience at the 2026 Olympics.
One day after crashing during the women’s downhill final at the Milano Cortina Winter Games, requiring her to be… E! Online (US) – Top Stories
