Megyn Kelly hasn’t been on NBC’s Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly for long, but she’s already managed to find herself mired in controversy. The trailer for Kelly’s interview with InfoWar’s Alex Jones hit on Sunday night, and despite the fact that she seems to take him to task over his damaging conspiracy theories, many are finding the fact that she’s giving him such a mainstream platform very troubling.
One of Jones’ particularly toxic pet theories — that Sandy Hook was a hoax and the parents faked the deaths of their own children — has made many speak out against the interview, including Nelba Márquez-Greene, whose daughter was killed in the mass shooting.
https://twitter.com/Nelba_MG/status/874083940642037760
https://twitter.com/Nelba_MG/status/874085384665403392
I'll give you 26 reasons not to air this interview #shameonNBC https://t.co/BcigLJZ3ML
— Heather Bucha Whaley (@HeatherWhaley) June 12, 2017
This piece of actual garbage encourages people to call my mom's death a hoax and harass other Sandy Hook families. Shame on you @megynkelly. https://t.co/uGmhqQAEeR
— cristina hassinger (@chass63) June 12, 2017
Kelly defended the choice, saying that they were merely shining a light on his damaging platform, now that InfoWars has been giving White House press credentials.
POTUS's been on & praises @RealAlexJones' show. He's giving Infowars a WH press credential. Many don't know him; our job is 2 shine a light. https://t.co/5e88BJyqnz
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 12, 2017
As for Jones, he went on a bizarre, angry rant before the promo even aired, calling Kelly “Not feminine. Cold. Robotic. Dead.” shortly after they conducted the interview. Now, in a new video from InfoWars, he wants the interview pulled completely. In a rambling live stream, Jones claims that the interview is a “hit piece trying to destroy independent media.” Jones also claimed that the preview was edited in such a way that made it look like he was doubling down on his Sandy Hook claims.
However, his biggest beef seems to oddly be with the fact that the interview will be airing on Father’s Day.
“I clicked this morning and went ‘That’s Father’s Day.’ They want to sit there with fathers and families together — and they know I’m a father and the whole piece is about how I’m a father — and it all clicked: make fathers look bad.”
Jones goes on to rant about how the editing and lighting were just a ploy to make him — “a guy that looks like a classic American father” — to make him look menacing.
NBC may have back themselves into the corner with this one. If they cancel the interview, Jones will most likely count this as a victory against the mainstream media. However, if they go forward with their plans, they’re just giving more credence to an organization that is becoming a truly damaging force in the political landscape.