You won’t believe this, but Megyn Kelly defended the use of blackface during a controversial Today Show segment.
Wait… what’s that you say?
You totally believe it because Megyn Kelly has a history of saying inappropriate things that could best be described as offensive and worst be described as racist?
That’s right. She was a mainstay on Fox News for years, no matter how hard NBC worked to try and make us forget her employment history.
Below, we run down the scandal that got Kelly kicked off NBC and compare it to other times in which she said some really awful things about African-Americans:
What is Racist?
This is the question Kelly actually asked on air, challenging her round table panelists to explain the problem with white people dressing up in blackface for Halloween… apparently unaware of how this type of makeup was used by theater performers in the 19th century to stereotype and mock African-Americans who were being held down in society.
Ah, The Good Ole Days…
“Back when I was a kid, that was OK just as long as you were dressing as a character,” Kelly said stupidly, adding: “Isn’t the whole purpose of Halloween to dress up and pretend you’re someone other than yourself? I feel like it’s so absurd. Who comes up with these rules?”
She Did At Least Apologize
“I want to begin with two words: I’m sorry,” she said at the top of the next day’s show. “You may have heard that yesterday we had a conversation about political correctness and Halloween costumes. … I defended the idea (of blackface), saying that as long it was respectful and part of a Halloween costume, that it seemed OK. Well, I was wrong, and I am sorry.”
Continued the Embattled Anchor:
“This past year has been so painful for many people of colo. The country feels so divided and I have no wish to add to that pain and offense. I believe this is a time for more understanding, more love, more sensitivity and honor, and I want to be part of that. Thank you for listening and for helping me listen too.”
Too Little, Too Late?
Kelly will be terminated by NBC as a result of these remarks, multiple sources have said. And it doesn’t help that she has made similar comments in the past. To wit…
SANTA IS WHITE!
During her Fox News days, Kelly got very, very VERY worked up over the idea of black men dressed up as Santa Claus, telling her audience: “For all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white…Just because it makes you feel uncomfortable doesn’t mean it has to change. Jesus was a white man, too.â€Â
No Conspiracy Theory Here
Sandra Bland was a 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on July 13, 2015, three days after being arrested during a traffic stop. Many people think she was murdered. Kelly was not one of these people, saying on air: “What we showed the audience tonight is that this woman has a history of being suicidal. The videotape of the jail cell does not show anybody going into the jail cell during the time she hanged herself.”
Victim Blaming
In 2015, video of former McKinney, Texas police officer Eric Casebolt manhandling a black teenage girl generated a huge public outcry over excessive force in communities of color. However, Kelly questioned whether race was an issue in the officer’s handling of the incident. “What is the evidence it is a race thing as opposed to am excessive force thing? . . . The girl was no saint either. He had told her to leave and she continued to linger,†she said.
Remember the Ferguson Riots?
Kelly didn’t think they should have happened because there was no reason to believe racism was rampant in the community. During a discussion with Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens, Kelly dismissed the Department of Justice report on Ferguson Police Department’s disproportionate targeting of blacks as a ‘case of bad apples,’†she explained to viewers, saying the report was “problematic” and arguing that “there are very few companies in America…[where]…you won’t find racist emails.”
ALL LIVES MATTER!
When television host Stephen A. Smith apologized for an his “all lives matter” comment, Kelly weighed in to say that “his spine got up and walked out of his body,” stating that the Black Lives Matter movement was silly and insulting.
George Zimmerman Was Found Not Guilty in the Murder of Trayvon Martin And…
“Wow,†Kelly said in response to the reaction of the teen’s father, Tracy Martin, to the not guilty verdict. “They prosecuted him. Those prosecutors did their level best but they didn’t prove their case. I mean the jury saw it differently.” Yes. And the dead teenager’s dad was understandably upset by this.
Megyn Kelly Claps
Also in 2015, Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake apologized for calling protesters “thugs. But Kelly didn’t understand why. She thinks this was the right word to use, telling viewers: “You know ‘misguided young people’ is tough for the cops who found themselves being assaulted, one with a shattered kneecap, hundreds who are injured to swallow as they watched them burning people’s houses down.”
Stop Playing the Victim!
She once claimed First Lady Michelle Obama and others who call for social justice are perpetuating a culture of victimhood, saying: “It takes away your power to send the message that you are a victim and you will remain a victim unless the man gets his foot off of your neck.
You Silly Protestors…
Kelly also suggested that campus protests following unrest across the country were simply the work of spoiled, overly sensitive youth. “I love that utopia. It does not exist,” she said. “Good luck getting rid of all of the bigotry. We’re just going to wipe the world…We’d love to, but it’s not reality.”
She’s Best Buds with Mark Fuhrman
You know Fuhrman, right? The racist police officer involved in the OJ Simpson murder case? He was often brought on to analyze racial issues with Kelly, as the Fox News personalities commiserated about the so-called anti-cop biases of people outraged over police killing unarmed black men. Kelly asserted that the black community suffered from a “thug mentality†where “it’s cool to sort of hate the cops, and hang out — and be somebody who doesn’t necessarily prize being there for your family.”