Megyn Kelly made headlines with her controversial remarks about The Boys actress Erin Moriarty’s plastic surgery. This isn’t the first instance of Kelly finding herself in hot water due to insensitive comments. Fans may recall that her stint on the TODAY show came to an end after a segment discussing Blackface. Months before the show’s cancellation, Megyn Kelly made an ill-advised comment on body-shaming, that upset many viewers.
Kelly went on to say that some women wanted to be body-shamed to get into shape. She even revealed asking her stepfather to body-shame her. After several social media users and body positivity experts called her out, Kelly offered an apology for offending people with her comments.
Megyn Kelly’s Comments On Fat-Shaming Did Not Sit Well With Many Viewers
On January 11, 2018, Megyn Kelly brought Maria Kang, who is best known for her ‘No Excuse’ campaign, to her TODAY show. Years prior, Kang had posted a photo on her social media showing her fit body after giving birth to her third child. The photo became controversial due to the tagline, “What’s your excuse?”, being perceived as body-shaming other moms. Kang has since changed the tagline to “What’s your reason?” which, she believes, has a more positive connotation.
When Kang explained her new stance on Megyn Kelly TODAY, the host suggested that Kang should continue to use fat-shaming people as a business strategy. According to Kelly, some women, including her, wanted to be shamed for motivation. She even revealed an incident when she asked her stepfather to call her “fat a**” if she entered the kitchen. Kelly also claimed that this harsh step actually worked for her. Kelly told Kang on Megyn Kelly TODAY:
“You should parlay the shaming thing into a professional business because some of us want to be shamed. When I was in law school and I was gaining weight, I said to my stepfather, ‘If you see me go into that kitchen one more time, you say, ‘Where you going fat a**?’’ And it works!”
Kelly’s ignorant suggestion irked some of her viewers, who took to social media to express their discontent with the statement. One user sarcastically shared that Kelly’s comments should be placed in “the league of the worst takes”, while another shared that Kelly should “join the body positivity movement.” One viewer commented that the comments were “awful and unacceptable” (via Yahoo!).
Megyn Kelly Later Apologized For Her Comments
After the heavy backlash, Megyn Kelly clarified her position on the show the very next day. Kelly revealed that she “would never encourage [body shaming] toward any person.” The host went on to share her personal experiences with the issue. She revealed that her entire family has struggled with weight, and her first experience with fat-shaming was a neighbor calling her mother “fat”.
She revealed that, in middle school, she was at the receiving end of some vicious bullying due to her chubby appearance. Kelly also revealed the lasting impacts of bullying, which manifested in the form of diet pills, obsessive exercise, and cutting back on food. While she has become healthier in her approach as an adult, she admitted to still wrestling with body image issues. Kelly shared on TODAY show:
“Ones who called me fat, and made fun of my backside, who subjected me to humiliating pranks. Those comments can cut deep, trust me, I know. Soon there were diet pills and obsessive exercise and I had reduced my calorie intake to 500 calories a day. […] As an adult, I’ve gotten healthier in my approach to eating, but I, like every woman I know, still wrestle with body image, and still cringe when I hear a person attacked for his or her weight.”
Megyn Kelly concluded her apology by sharing that no one deserved to be judged or shamed for how they choose to handle their body image struggles.
