Megyn Kelly's Refusal To Lay Off Annie Guthrie After Police Clear Her As Suspect Sparks Brutal Backlash
Megyn Kelly has had more than her share of controversies in her journalism career and she shows no signs of wanting to avoid more. Her latest commentary on the case of Savannah Guthrie's missing mother, Nancy Guthrie, might be her most reviled opinion yet. On February 19, 2026 — nearly three weeks after the disappearance of the "Today" show anchor's mother — Kelly discussed the investigation on her Sirius XM outlet, "The Megyn Kelly Show." In the process, she put forth a theory that sparked tons of backlash.
The former Fox News and NBC host ran a clip of a "Today" episode from November 2025 in which Savannah visited her hometown of Tucson, Arizona. She had lunch at a favorite Mexican restaurant with her sister, Annie Guthrie, and their mother. Kelly noted that Nancy and Savannah were seated next to each other while Annie was eating silently at the opposite end of the table. "The sister barely has a bit part," noted Kelly (via YouTube). "What is the sister feeling? It's possible she's feeling total pride and... joy in her sister's success. It's also possible she wasn't, and there's a level of envy, since I guarantee you she was doing the lion's share of the work with Nancy, and Savannah wasn't."
If that weren't damaging enough, Kelly then directly suggested Annie might have orchestrated the kidnapping to punish her sister. Seeing Savannah get a hero's welcome in their town "can spark somebody's idea on 'I'm going to end that. I want to disrupt it. I don't appreciate that I'm a celebrity and everybody loves me situation, and I know just the way to end it.'"
Authorities have ruled out Guthrie's family as suspects
Nothing about their history suggests Annie Guthrie's relationship with her mom Nancy is anything other than loving. In fact, the Pima County sheriff stated that she, her husband, and other family members are no longer considered suspects in the kidnapping. "The Guthrie family are victims, plain and simple," Sheriff Nanos affirmed in his statement (via Page Six). Yet Megyn Kelly suspects otherwise, and she's getting slammed for it. "This is low — even for you," said a critic on X. "Yet nothing shocks me anymore about you." Another was even more blunt, writing, "Who gives a s*** about her theory."
As the cherry on top of her flaming comment sundae, Kelly laid almost an equal amount of blame on Savannah Guthrie for taping the "Today" hometown segment in the first place. Even if Annie is innocent, she argued, the footage revealed enough information about her mother's neighborhood — such as the restaurant they visited — for a potential kidnapper to locate Nancy's address and plot a crime. Her guests, a security expert and a former FBI agent, agreed that celebrities should reveal as little about their personal lives as possible. A fan of the morning host protested, "Megyn is it really necessary to make this statement which only makes Savannah feel even more responsible[?]"
As of this writing, no new information has been made available about the investigation. But Savannah, who might never return to "Today" after her mother's kidnapping, is clearly suffering. An Instagram video showed her makeup-free and trying to hold her emotions in check as she tells Nancy's captor, "It's never too late to do the right thing."