Cognitive control is a central human ability. It enables goal-directed behavior even when encountering distractions on the way. There is a large body of research investigating a potential influence of affect on cognitive control as emotional processes may impact the resolution of response conflict. In a seminal study, Kanske and Kotz (2010) investigated whether and how emotional stimuli influence control by combining a color-word Flanker Task with task-irrelevant emotional and neutral words. Across six experiments cognitive control (indicated by a reduced congruency effect) was enhanced for both positive and negative compared to neutral word stimuli. In this project, we conducted a conceptual replication (N = 383). Four experiments investigated the proposed effect and tested potential moderators, e.g., attention to the emotional words, type of employed conflict task, temporal spacing of trials, and testing conditions (online vs. laboratory). Although overall consistent congruency effects and a small, but significant effect of emotional words on performance were observed, the critical modulation of control by emotional words could not be replicated. These findings question the robustness of emotional-driven control as implemented by Kanske and Kotz (2010). Further, they encourage future efforts to replicate other emotion-control interactions and, more broadly, suggest the need for a theoretical framework that explains when and how external emotional stimuli moderate internal affective signals.