Megyn Kelly has found herself in the middle of several surprising feuds through the years.
In 2017, Kelly asked Jane Fonda about aging and plastic surgery. “We really want to talk about that now?” Fonda replied on an episode of Megyn Kelly Today, to which the journalist replied, “Well, one of the things people think when they look at you is how amazing you look.”
Fonda thanked Kelly for her comment before redirecting the conversation back to her film. “Good attitude, good posture, take care of myself,” she said. “But let me tell you why I love this movie that we did, Our Souls at Night, rather than plastic surgery.”
While reflecting on the moment the next year, Kelly admitted that she had regret. (Kelly’s show was canceled by NBC in 2018 after her controversial blackface comments.)
“I certainly wish I hadn’t put on Jane Fonda,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in 2018. “That didn’t go well!”
Scroll down to see Kelly’s most surprising feuds:
Jane Fonda
Despite Fonda’s reaction to Kelly asking about plastic surgery, the journalist said she wouldn’t have done anything differently. “She answered that question in about 40 different forums,” Kelly exclusively told Us in 2018. “It was nothing wrong with me. And she’s answered it in 40 more forums since!”
She continued, “I think the issue was somebody who used to work at Fox News was asking it of her that particular day. There’s nothing I can do about that. I know some people don’t like Fox News, and some people don’t like me and that’s OK.”
While reflecting on Fonda subsequently bringing up the exchange in interviews, Kelly alleged that she let “her beat up on me repeatedly.”
“She went out there and ripped on me. It’s fine,” Kelly said. “You have to take your licks as a reporter, as an anchor. And she did it again, and she did it again, and she did it again and I didn’t say anything.”
Erin Moriarty
Kelly used Moriarty as an example of alleged extreme plastic surgery on Sirius XM’s The Megyn Kelly Show, sharing what she called a “relatively recent” photo of the actress. Kelly then showed a more recent photo and alleged the actress had “Kim Kardashian lips” and had altered her nose and cheeks.
Moriarty hit back via Instagram, writing, “This is something I truly never anticipated writing. We’re all subject to levels of bullying throughout our lives but I am horrified, and I felt that I deserved to take a second to address these things. I had no idea what was going on, to be honest, because I’ve had one of the most challenging weeks of my life.”
She continued, “To receive a message about a disgustingly false, counterproductive to the degree of being ironically misogynistic video of Megyn Kelly commenting on the manner — to learn the widespread nature of this has left me horrified.”
Moriarty claimed that Kelly was off with her timeline regarding the alleged “recent” photo. “Megyn used a photo taken ‘a year ago’ according to her, that had in actuality been taken about a decade ago, before I was of LEGAL DRINKING AGE (I’m about to turn 30) as an example (maybe do some research that would take 30 seconds),” she wrote. “How utterly misinformed, inaccurate, and clickbait seeing people who we follow and consider to be informed is appalling.”
When it came to the image Kelly referred to as “Kim Kardashian lips,” Moriarty shared that she had gotten her makeup done that day and had “major contouring.” Moriarty noted that she would be leaving Instagram.
“You never know what someone is going through, social media is a platform that is not representative of a whole person, and [sic] irregardless, there is no excuse for the words that have been spoken directly to me or about me. Shame on you, Megyn Kelly,” she concluded. “Implying that my photo is reflective of women being in a worse place is as false as my conviction in saying that if you resigned, you would be leaving women in a better place.”
Jonathan Van Ness
After Van Ness got emotional on the “Armchair Expert” podcast while noting that he’s “so tired of having to fight for little kids because they just want to be included,” Kelly mocked the remarks.
“You know what, Jonathan? Same. Same. I’m so tired too. I’m so tired,” Kelly said, fake crying. “I’m tired of having to stand up for my daughter’s right to play sports with other girls. I’m tired of having to stand up for the volleyball player down in North Carolina.” (Kelly’s comment was in reference to high school student Payton McNabb, who urged the North Carolina state legislature to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports teams.)
Van Ness reacted via Instagram in 2023, saying, “Megyn, whoa. I had to meet you on a press tour in your fourth-hour Today show that got canceled. But you did make millions of dollars on that cancellation so good on you, girl boss power, love it.”
He continued: “But here’s the thing, I don’t think you would make a video of every single time a high school or collegiate athlete got injured playing volleyball or soccer or basketball or baseball or any of those sports when she gets injured by a cisgender competitor, which happens all the time. Why? Because sports are dangerous. Volleyball is dangerous. Trans women don’t make sports dangerous, they are dangerous.”
Van Ness shared that “advocating for trans inclusion in sports and for trans rights does not take away from women’s rights” and noted that “women deserve the same access” to opportunities in sports. “I believe in women’s rights. I believe in women’s right to choose,” he said. “I believe in trans rights. So, yeah I’m advocating for all the people. That’s what I try to do and all the best to you.”
