On Wednesday morning, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade found himself at the center of a media firestorm after critics said he used racially insensitive language to describe an event Vice President Kamala Harris was attending. Megyn Kelly stood up for her former colleague during her SiriusXM show Wednesday.
On FOX & Friends, while criticizing Harris for skipping the address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said “She will not show up for the Prime Minister’s joint session of Congress. She’d rather address — in the summer — a sorority, a college sorority, like she can’t get outta that!”
A clip of Kilmeade’s comments went viral, with critics claiming he said “colored” sorority rather than “college” sorority. Vice President Harris is set to address the Zeta Phi Beta sorority at its annual convention in Indianapolis on Wednesday. The sorority is a historically Black group.
During The Megyn Kelly Show, the host defended Kilmeade, arguing that due to the longevity of his career, he deserved more benefit of the doubt from potential detractors.
“Brian Kilmeade’s been on the air for 20-plus years. If he were going to refer to black politicians as ‘colored’ it would have happened prior to now. We had a Black president for eight years,” Kelly stated. “He didn’t store it up for this moment in 2024 so he could unleash it on Kamala Harris. Absolutely no benefit of the doubt for him.”
Kelly added that FOX & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones also took criticism for not speaking up about the slur that wasn’t actually uttered.
“It’s so gross and dishonest,” Kelly said of those who took shots at Jones, before returning to defending Kilmeade. “What history does Brian Kilmeade have of saying something like that? That’s disgusting.”
