Back in the ’90s, MTV’s bespectacled VJ Kennedy (or, “Lisa Kennedy Montgomery,” her decidedly less Alternative Nation-sounding full name) was known for her quirky personality and even quirkier fashion sense. In the years since Kennedy parted with MTV, however, she went on to appear in a string of game shows and reality TV series before finally landing at the Fox Business Network in 2012, where she has hosted her own program aptly named Kennedy since 2015.
And that’s what brings us where we are today, as Kennedy is now apparently an unapologetic, full-on right-wing conservative — whose remarks on Fox News on Wednesday left many gobsmacked. During a segment on the Democrat response to the GOP’s proposed healthcare bill, which would allegedly leave 22 million uninsured by 2026, the conservative news network ran clips of Bernie Sanders, Nancy Pelosi, and Al Frankin outlining scenarios of how many people will die if this bill passes.
Of course, Kennedy and her fellow commentators all had a good chuckle over that, before launching into her own tirade:
You know what, at least they’re not employing any hyperbole at all, no exaggeration, no hysteria… You know what the crazy thing is? We’re all gonna die. And they can’t predict — there, there’s no way, unless they’re absolutely psychic and have a party line to heaven, they don’t know who is going to die, or when, or how many people!
For those baffled by Kennedy’s seeming about-face, a rabbit-hole trip down her Wikipedia page reveals that the former VJ was a “closet conservative” even in back in her free-wheeling MTV days, who chanted “Nixon” at MTV’s 1993 Rock ’n’ Roll Inaugural Ball for Bill Clinton, and has a pink elephant tattooed on her thigh for the Republican party. How very on brand.
Either way, this new and improved Kennedy still came as a surprise to some:
https://twitter.com/tholzerman/status/880096352855875585
What the hell happened to MTV VJ Kennedy? She's a total nut now.
— Christopher Coker (@CokerInSC) June 29, 2017
Wait. Kennedy from MTV is on Fox News? Seriously? I didn't take her seriously when she was intro-ing Madonna videos. WTF who watches this 💩?
— AngryIowan (@SincereSnwflake) June 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/Peabots13/status/880404022070358017
Can't believe Kennedy is on Fox news supporting Trumpcare. I used to watch her VJ on MTV 120 minutes back in the day. Weird.
— MJ Star Dust (@MJSpaceman) June 28, 2017
Staff at MTV News loses jobs — meanwhile, Kennedy earns $$ for shrugging at needless deaths.
What a bizarre decade. https://t.co/EnD7TuD3En
— Greg Greene (@ggreeneva) June 29, 2017
You can say that again.
(Via Newsweek)