Megyn Kelly opened her new show by explaining that she decided to start a podcast because she doesn’t trust the media to be objective.
“I am deeply concerned; I’m concerned about what’s happening to our country, to our media, and to us,” Kelly said. “The press, of which I’ve been a part for many years now, is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I feel like it has abandoned any semblance of objectivity. And just having the luxury of being just a consumer for the past couple of years, it’s as plain as the nose on your face and it’s really frustrating.”
Kelly, who previously had a show on FOX News and then was part of the Today show on NBC, continued:
“Most of the media today expresses fealty to one side or the other. To Trump, or to destroying Trump. Right? And now it’s – it’s fealty to the toxic religion of Wokeness. Policing people’s words and their thoughts, and I just thought you know what? I need to get back out there. I need to create a show that I control, in which my only fealty will be to the audience, and to the truth.”
If you’re frustrated by media bias, inject this podcast straight into your veins. This topic is a recurring theme in the first 10 episodes that have been released thus far, and Kelly does not hold back.
Here are some snippets from her first episode (“The Megyn Kelly Show” released Sept. 28, 2020). The episode featured a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Glenn Greenwald, who helped break the story about how the NSA was illegally spying on Americans, as revealed by Edward Snowden.
On media accountability:
“There’s no accountability. They pay no price. They get, they get financially rewarded for going after him [Trump] non-stop. No matter how small the scandal it will be inflated to an 11. I mean RussiaGate is the best example of that,” Kelly said. She then specifically called out Rachel Maddow for hyping stories and then when they turned out to be baseless, just moving on without acknowledging they were wrong.
On how there’s pressure to not ask questions about certain topics:
While talking about why liberals have contempt for Joe Rogan, and specifically the controversy surrounding his interview with author Abigail Shrier about trans issues, Kelly said that, “There’s no harm in having tough discussions.” Kelly then said that it is a journalist’s job to be antagonistic toward the subjects and people they cover. “We get paid to be skeptical. And suddenly on certain issues, this is one of the things that’s driving me nuts about covering trans issues or covering Black Lives Matter is you’re not allowed to be skeptical. If you are skeptical, there’s something wrong with you. You know, you’re anti-black people or you’re anti-LGBT trans people. That just isn’t true.”
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On getting fired from NBC:
Kelly said that the very public way she got fired gave her freedom:
“The greatest positive thing to come out of my, you know, very negative ending at NBC, was a freedom, a liberation to just – once you’ve been called awful things by every publication in the country you know that’s been run by these folks, you’re free,” Kelly said. “So I’m just going to talk honestly about these subjects and what are you going to do? You gonna say something bad about me? Yeah, that’s happened, you already fired that bullet, and I’m good, so on we go.”
Greenwald asked Kelly if she regretted apologizing for asking whether wearing blackface is always inherently offensive, or if intent matters. Kelly said that people misunderstood the point she was trying to make, but she didn’t regret apologizing. She now realizes, though, that the people attacking her had an ulterior motive:
“I think I made the mistake of believing that most of my critics were coming to me in good faith. And what I’ve seen since then is that wasn’t true.”
Kelly pointed out that Joy Behar of ABC’s “The View” again defended herself when a guest recently pointed out that Behar herself once wore blackface.
“She, unlike yours truly, has actually worn blackface,” Kelly said. Kelly pointed out that Behar said she wasn’t exactly wearing blackface, and that her actions were meant as an homage. (Behar went dressed as an African woman with dark skin at a Halloween party in the 1970s.)
“That’s exactly what I was trying to ask! Would that make a difference? Would that make a difference?” Kelly said. Kelly noted that she was pilloried in the press, including by ABC, yet ABC hosts Behar and Jimmy Kimmel – both people who have worn blackface – were not subjected to similar treatment.
Kelly also noted that NBC had many sitcoms on air at that time that used blackface as a comedic device. Several have now been pulled from streaming services Hulu and Netflix.
“There was no good faith by the media outlets covering it, and the vast majority of critics who just wanted a scalp,” Kelly said.
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On how the media covers for Joe Biden and the Democrats:
“The thing about Biden that everybody talks about is whether he’s all there. You know, [I] feel like as a matter of factual reporting, you cannot deny that he’s in cognitive decline,” Kelly said. “I think it’s okay to talk about, and I think it’s pretty clear.”
She also talked about how Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegations against Joe Biden have not been covered properly by the media.
“I feel like the media has done it’s level best to run cover for him [Biden] on the Tara Reade story. Whether you believe Tara Reade or you don’t, the way they’ve treated those allegations verse the way they treated the allegations against Trump and against Kavanaugh is starkly different.”
Kelly, who interviewed Reade, pointed out that Reade has more corroborating evidence than Christine Blasey Ford, who accused now-Justice Kavanaugh of sexual assault during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
“Tara Reade has more evidence on her side than Christine Blasey Ford had. By any standard.” Kelly then went through the various pieces of evidence that back up Reade’s story, and pointed out that it’s at least enough that the media should be taking the claims seriously, yet the media has been largely silent.
This is all good stuff from a sharp journalist who is not afraid to call out media bias, and for that reason it’s worth subscribing to “The Megyn Kelly Show” podcast. It will make you feel good to hear her sensible, balanced take on these issues. Or as she put it on a later episode, “Listen to [the episode with] Adam Carolla on cancel culture and you will feel like a bad itch has gotten scratched – in like a good healthy way, not in a weird ‘I need ointment way.’”
Following the vice presidential debate, Kelly made fun of journalists who spent their time focusing on the fly that landed on the vice president’s head, and she criticized MSNBC anchors for saying that Mike Pence was limp, lame, and flaccid:
“Even going there, obviously everybody knows what they’re trying to say, like he’s this, he’s not a virile man, he looked weak, he’s not somebody who could get it done in the bedroom or in the boardroom or in the Oval Office. That’s what they’re telegraphing with that, the use of those words over and over.”
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“If any similar remarks had been made about a woman, everyone, everyone would be crying sexism. Right? They’d be crying sexism. But the truth is, Mike Pence was controlled. It’s like, you almost can’t win cause if you’re interrupting and all fiery and energetic the way Trump always is, they say you’re a bully, and if you’re a gentleman who’s controlled and just measured the way Mike Pence always speaks, then you’re limp and you’re flaccid.”
Kelly said she thought those comments were out-of-line. But her comments about MSNBC were spot-on.
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