Actor Tim Allen said he has carried the pain of his father’s death for more than six decades and only recently found the strength to forgive the man responsible after hearing Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, publicly forgive the man charged with killing her husband.
Allen wrote on X that Erika Kirk’s words at the memorial service deeply affected him. “That man … that young man … I forgive him,” she said, citing Jesus’ words on the cross: “Father, forgive them.” Allen responded, “I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my Dad. I will say those words now… ‘I forgive the man who killed my father.’” He ended his post with, “Peace be with you all.”
Erika Kirk explained that her forgiveness flowed directly from the Gospel, saying Christ forgave those who crucified Him and that “the answer to hate is not hate… the answer we know from the Gospel is love.”
Allen was 11 years old when his father, Gerald M. Dick, was killed by a drunk driver in 1964 while driving his family home from a football game. Allen has said the trauma shaped much of his life and left a lasting wound that never fully healed.
Though raised Episcopalian, Allen has acknowledged periods of doubt and skepticism following his father’s death and other hardships. In recent years, however, he has spoken more openly about faith, describing God as “The Builder” and sharing that he has read through the Old Testament and New Testament, calling Scripture a “treasure” and a deeply humbling experience.
Allen’s public act of forgiveness marks a significant moment in his long personal journey, linking his healing to Christ’s example and the testimony of another believer who chose forgiveness in the face of profound loss.
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