September 29, 2017

Megyn Kelly’s First Week at NBC Got Attention for All the Wrong Reasons

She might be done with politics. But Kelly’s talent for delivering cringeworthy moments remains.

It’s Friday and Megyn Kelly might need something stronger than a mimosa to get her to the weekend.

Despite her new NBC morning show’s promise to be a “fun and uplifting” experience, Kelly’s debut this week has been anything but. Megyn Kelly Today, which premiered Monday, was widely panned by critics, many who say the clunky rollout has only underscored NBC’s inability to figure out just what to do with Kelly in its roster. Early numbers also indicate the show is struggling to find an audience. 

The former Fox News host has had trouble interviewing her celebrity guests. Strung together, the segments show that while Kelly might profess to be done with politics, her reputation for delivering cringeworthy moments is far from over.

Here are some of the worst moments from Kelly’s debut this week: 

While interviewing the cast of Will & Grace, Kelly asks a fan whether he “became gay” after watching the character Will:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQVwoImSnds  

She then repeatedly referred to his sexuality as the “gay thing:” The fan took the question in stride, but her choice of words and questions did not go unnoticed. Debra Messing later said she regretted appearing on the show, saying she was unaware that the cast’s PR tour included a stop on Kelly’s show: 

Kelly asks Jane Fonda about her plastic surgery, clearly irritating the legendary actress. “We really want to talk about that right now?” Fonda shot back. 

Ignoring Kelly’s question, Fonda proceeded to discuss her upcoming movie with Robert Redford: “Seemed like the wrong time and place to ask that question,” Fonda later told Entertainment Tonight.

A member of Kelly’s camera crew accidentally gets in front of a shot. Upon realizing, he says “shit!” on live television:

And off air, midway into her first week, Elle publishes an interview with Kelly where she appears to blame ESPN’s Jemele Hill for courting controversy for calling Donald Trump a white supremacist:

Kelly’s response drew criticism on social media. Hill also weighed in with a succinct “LOL”:

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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