Megyn Kelly’s first show at NBC aired just under two weeks ago, and she could already be on her way back out the door.
Kelly created a whirlwind of controversy when she announced her second airing of “Sunday Night” would feature an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Jones has been a consistently controversial figure throughout his career, but it’s one specific conspiracy theory that’s drawing so much criticism for Kelly.
Jones claims to believe that the horrific murder of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook elementary school was fake, and the grieving parents were actors.
What makes the interview even worse: The episode is set to air on Father’s Day.
And it didn’t take long for the backlash to begin.
JP Morgan already pulled their commercials from NBC in an effort to avoid any association with the program.
Kelly was dropped from an annual gala hosted by The Sandy Hook Promise Foundation which is set to be held in Washington Wednesday.
And the families of the tragedy are speaking out, as are political commentators from both sides of the aisle.
Chelsea Clinton tweeted an image of one of the children that lost their lives that day, asking Kelly if it’s worth boosting her ratings:
https://twitter.com/Nelba_MG/status/874085384665403392
The girl’s mother, Nelba Marquez-Greene, told The Washington Post, “to give Alex Jones a platform on Father’s Day is especially cruel to me.”
But despite the criticism, Kelly and NBC are standing by their decision to provide a platform for Jones.
Kelly posted an explanation to her Twitter page, saying:
Here is my statement regarding Sunday night’s interview: pic.twitter.com/iS2VfyLt6S
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 13, 2017
NBC executive producer Liz Cole defended Kelly, telling CNN Monday, “Viewers will see Megyn do a strong interview where she challenges him appropriately. That’s the benefit of putting him out there. When someone actually sits down and asks him questions and he has to come up with answers- there’s value to that.”
Alex Jones tweeted Monday that he was calling Kelly to cancel the show, because she misrepresented his opinions.
I'm calling for @megynkelly to cancel the airing of our interview for misrepresenting my views on Sandy Hook – https://t.co/TfLEPHEYrd
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) June 12, 2017
It is unclear at this time if the interview will air or not, but the damage for Kelly is already done.
Regardless of if the show airs or not, Kelly will continue to be in hot water – a temperature she has to be getting used to at this point.
-The Horn editorial team