The week got off to a big start Monday when two big media figures, of two very different stripes, were abruptly out of their jobs. Fox News announced they had decided to “part ways” with their biggest star, Tucker Carlson, effective immediately. Meanwhile, over at CNN, Don Lemon — who’d been in hot water over comments he made that were seen as sexist — was either given the ax or agreed to part ways, depending on who’s telling the story. Both bits of news caused big stirs; the Tucker one in particular drew jeers and cheers. But one Fox News alum is taking both of their sides.
On SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show, the disgraced former Today host weighed on both Carlson and Lemon. Of the former, she deemed it a “terrible move” by Fox but a “great thing” for Tucker. It’s not yet known what prompted her old employers to split with their biggest star, but whatever the reason, Kelly thought it made no sense:
“If this is a reaction to the Dominion lawsuit, why is Maria Bartiromo there? Why is Jeanine Pirro still there? Why is Suzanne Scott still there? The CEO of Fox News. She got them in far more trouble with her executive emails panicking about Dominion and the audience than anything Tucker did behind the scenes. I realize the left hates Tucker’s guts. I get that this is a joyful day for them. But internally at Fox, they always had that gauge, at least under Roger Ailes, of how to ignore those critics and do what was right for the channel and its audience and the truth.”
Kelly also predicted it would be “great for Tucker,” whom she’s not “worried” about. “I predict Tucker goes independent,” she told listeners. “Tucker launches a podcast or digital show and crushes it. Absolutely crushes it. … A lot of people think he’s going to run for office. I don’t think so. I just don’t think so. Tucker’s got way more influence sitting behind a microphone than he does standing on a debate stage.”
As for Lemon, she felt compassion for him after he claimed he’d been terminated without any direct notice from CNN brass.
“No, no, he’s, he’s not wrong,” she said. “I mean, everybody knows I’m not exactly Don Lemon’s fan, but he’s not wrong that if that’s true, that he was just told by his agent he was fired and they didn’t have the balls to tell him man to man. I mean, that’s just classless. He’s got a right to complain about that.”
Kelly has been with SiriusXM since 2021, two years after leaving NBC over comments she made about blackface. During her tenure thus far, she’s railed against Dr. Fauci and student loan forgiveness. It’s not surprising that she’d side with talent over management, even if she and Fox News parted amicably so she could make a failed attempt to be a nice and normal host of a nice and normal morning show.