Megyn Kelly's Comparison Of Will Smith And Meghan Markle Has Twitter Divided
Not many people would find a way to bring Meghan Markle into the Will Smith smacking controversy, but former "Fox News" host Megyn Kelly managed to do it! Speaking to Dan Wootton on GB Live in the U.K. this week, the former "Today" star condemned both Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith by declaring, "They're so out of touch."
She then pointed to the $140,000 gift bags the actors each received at the Oscars, a value confirmed by IGN, noting that the average American is struggling to pay their rent and at the gas pump. But what does the Smiths' massive wealth — his net worth is valued at $350 million according to Celebrity Net Worth while hers is $50 million per the outlet — have to do with the Duchess of Sussex? We're glad you asked!
"I'd put [Smith] in the same boat as I'd put Meghan Markle," Kelly went on to say in the GB Live interview. She then accused Prince Harry's wife of "whining and crying about the alleged racists she wouldn't name in the royal family and about how hard it is to be a princess and everything... no one cares what title your kid is getting...they have their own problems to deal with."
The anchor had more to say from there.
Megyn Kelly has some advice for Will Smith
Megyn Kelly wasn't done with her comments that compared the embattled "King Richard" actor and the royal family member many people would say is the most controversial figure in modern times.
Indeed, the mom of three echoed the widely-circulated claim that Smith having allegedly heard too many jokes at his family's expense led him to punch Chris Rock on stage at the Academy Awards on Sunday night, among other factors (via Daily Mail). Kelly asserted about the former rapper that no one cares about his problems, adding he is one of the biggest stars in the world and has plenty of privilege.
Her advice for the new Oscar winner? "Take your little statue, go home to your gazillion dollar home with your amazingly gorgeous wife and enjoy the great big beautiful life that you've managed to carve out for yourself."
The unsaid advice for Markle seemed to be the same — that instead of sharing her problems with the world, as she did in her Oprah interview, the former actress should enjoy her life, many facets of which a large number of people may feel she is lucky to have.
The comments about Will Smith and Meghan Markle are hardly Megyn Kelly's most controversial
Of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't point out that Megyn Kelly has a solid past of stirring up controversy, with People recalling her "Today" show exit over the host's very poorly received comments over blackface's place in dressing up for Halloween. The outlet notes that Kelly was also blasted by many fans for telling viewers Santa Claus and Jesus are (only) white and for grilling Jane Fonda about what cosmetic procedures she's had done.
The "Fox News" alum also famously clashed with Donald Trump in a presidential debate in 2015 after Kelly asked the future president about his treatment of women (via PBS).
When it comes to her latest claims that Will Smith and Meghan Markle are similar due to their "whining" despite having a lot of money and privilege, well, let's just say Twitter is reacting. And the social media site's users are very divided.
Twitter users both congratulate and condemn Megyn Kelly
Leave it to Twitter to just get right to it, with one user asking what many folks who saw Megyn Kelly's interview are wondering: "How the hell did you manage to bring Meghan Markle into this?"
But other Twitter users were quick to express that they align with what the news anchor said. "I agree 100%. I'm sick of the woke actors and Meghan Markle whining about their rich privileged circumstances! Enough!" commented one such person who was feeling Kelly's interview. "Well said. [There] people with real problems, real issues, no job, homeless, struggling with day to day life, no food, illness, a sick child, sick parent or sick spouse, battling cancer or another life threatening illness no one cares about your little problems while you live in luxury," agreed someone else.
Other commenters were seeing red over Kelly's comparison of Will Smith and Markle. "When are you guys going to shut up about Meghan [?] How can you compare Will Smith's action to anyone let alone Meghan [?] He behaved appallingly. He [could] have just asked Chris to shut up. No need to be violent especially in a ceremony that was watched [by] millions," tweeted an individual who was not having it.
And some Twitter users even felt that Kelly's remarks contained racist undertones, like this person who condemned the news outlet for promoting the segment on Twitter in the first place: "Now tweeting flat out racist remarks. What a breath of fresh air @GBNEWS really is..."