# Megan Kelly wtf? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 27, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437 "2017-09-27T16:57:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/61 "2018-10-25T18:13:48Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Why should she have to apologize? Why is this even a thing? > > She is a twit. Her job is to be a twit. She literally says stupid things, and people correct her and explain the subtleties. That is her modus operandi. The audience gets to have things explained to them through the dialectic. > Why would anybody be angry and go after for this? > > It’s a pile on, it’s bullying from the 3rd grade. We’ll pick out the person who makes a mistake and deviates from the complex and esoteric rules that compromise the social norm. She didn’t have to apologize – she chose to. And it’s not a huge deal. A famous person said something very dumb, was widely criticized, and then apologized. Not that big of a deal. It’s okay to criticize someone for saying something dumb. And it’s okay to apologize for saying something dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/62 "2018-10-25T18:23:53Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Ignorance is not a defense. Her ignorance isn’t accidental, it’s a product of her disinterest in the topic. A disinterest only blunted by the fact that her big paycheck was put in jeopardy. So, your argument is one of “due diligence.” For example, a lawyer is held to the concept which means that they are responsible to know the things they are supposed to know in order to represent their client, and not making the effort to do so is malpractice. As a TV personality Megyn is supposed to understand the political and social landscape well enough to avoid offending her viewers, and embarrassing her network. Is that your argument? ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/63 "2018-10-25T18:29:30Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > She didn’t have to apologize – she chose to. And it’s not a huge deal. A famous person said something very dumb, was widely criticized, and then apologized. Not that big of a deal. It’s okay to criticize someone for saying something dumb. And it’s okay to apologize for saying something dumb. My question is why is what she said something we care about? Consider that everybody that heard it probably thought one of two things. 1. Megyn obviously isn’t familiar or thinking about the historical connotations of “blackface,” when she made those comments, nor is she endorsing or promulgating them. Or 1. Everything she said was reasonable and makes sense (because they are not familiar with blackface) So, nobody was attacked. Nobody who was paying attention can be reasonably offended. So, again, why is this a thing? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/64 "2018-10-25T18:31:09Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > What discussion? She said blackface was acceptable. I think Megan Kelly is a twat for many reasons, and she is welcome to go far, far away, but her comment is not worthy of being fired over \* when taken in context\*. Maybe I don’t have all the facts, but it sounds like she was saying she doesn’t understand why it’s wrong to darken one’s face when dressing in costume as a person of color. Is it her use of the term “blackface”? I don’t consider wearing bronzer (or whatever she used) to make her look more like the person she’s dressing up to look like as wearing blackface. Was the network looking to get rid of her otherwise and this sounds like a good reason? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/65 "2018-10-25T18:33:22Z")
if she’s canned she will probably get a ton of money (10s of millions) to not work. Not a bad way to fail at your job . ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/66 "2018-10-25T18:36:30Z")
Iiiandyiii: He said “twat.” Get to work. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/67 "2018-10-25T18:40:46Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > My question is why is what she said something we care about? > > Consider that everybody that heard it probably thought one of two things. > > 1. Megyn obviously isn’t familiar or thinking about the historical connotations of “blackface,” when she made those comments, nor is she endorsing or promulgating them. > > Or > > 1. Everything she said was reasonable and makes sense (because they are not familiar with blackface) > > So, nobody was attacked. Nobody who was paying attention can be reasonably offended. > > So, again, why is this a thing? It’s barely a thing. Famous person said something dumb, got criticized, and apologized. Not a huge deal. Not a huge deal to talk about it either. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/68 "2018-10-25T18:41:20Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > So, your argument is one of “due diligence.” > > For example, a lawyer is held to the concept which means that they are responsible to know the things they are supposed to know in order to represent their client, and not making the effort to do so is malpractice. > > As a TV personality Megyn is supposed to understand the political and social landscape well enough to avoid offending her viewers, and embarrassing her network. > > Is that your argument? Btw, this is not a trap. I am trying to “steel man” your argument, and make sure that I am considering the fairest and strongest interpretation of your words. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/69 "2018-10-25T18:43:19Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I think Megan Kelly is a twat for many reasons, and she is welcome to go far, far away, but her comment is not worthy of being fired over \* when taken in context\*. Maybe I don’t have all the facts, but it sounds like she was saying she doesn’t understand why it’s wrong to darken one’s face when dressing in costume as a person of color. Is it her use of the term “blackface”? She doesn’t understand why it’s wrong _now_ because it wasn’t a problem when she was a kid in the Seventies. See also: [Republican candidate for Illinois State’s Attorney Ed Glazar](https://abc7chicago.com/politics/kankakee-co-candidate-under-fire-for-tiger-woods-costume/1174983/). ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/70 "2018-10-25T18:49:09Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > She doesn’t understand why it’s wrong _now_ because it wasn’t a problem when she was a kid in the Seventies. See also: [Republican candidate Ed Glazar](https://abc7chicago.com/politics/kankakee-co-candidate-under-fire-for-tiger-woods-costume/1174983/). Do you really think she was referring to actual blackface, like Danson wore? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/71 "2018-10-25T18:51:10Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Do you really think she was referring to actual blackface, like Danson wore? :dubious: That link was originally to Danson. There’s a reason I changed it to [Glazar](https://thegrio.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/edward-glazer-blackface.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/72 "2018-10-25T18:52:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Near as I can tell, there’s a difference between blackface and makeup which resembles a person of another race. The old-time minstrels wearing blackface didn’t resemble actual black people; they resembled a distorted, racist caricature of black people, and used it as a context to perform racist acts, and that’s what made it offensive. What Kelly is describing is completely different from that. > > Now, I can see that the two are likely to be conflated, and so someone with a modicum of historical awareness should probably also avoid the sort of makeup Kelly is describing, so as to avoid offensiveness by association. But I’m still not sure that that’s the sort of offense that one should be fired over, especially not when she’s done so many other offensive things and gotten away with them. Exactly. I think she was describing a situation where say… a young white boy might want to go as President Obama for Halloween. Or a black kid might want to be Abraham Lincoln. There’s nothing inherently racist if either kid was to paint their faces to match their costume, as long as it’s not the clearly racist minstrel show blackface style or anything similar. I think maybe she should have been more aware about what she was saying and how people might misinterpret it though. But a lot of the commentary has been hyperbolic and absurd- it’s like she mentioned blackface without immediately condemning it, and now everyone gets to criticize her because she didn’t follow the ritual. I’m reminded of those dumb-ass games teenagers play where if you don’t say “safety” after doing something and everyone gets to punch you in the arm- it seems almost like people are more annoyed that she didn’t follow some particular custom than in what she actually said. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/73 "2018-10-25T19:02:55Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Exactly. I think she was describing a situation where say… a young white boy might want to go as President Obama for Halloween. Or a black kid might want to be Abraham Lincoln. There’s nothing inherently racist if either kid was to paint their faces to match their costume, as long as it’s not the clearly racist minstrel show blackface style or anything similar. > > I think maybe she should have been more aware about what she was saying and how people might misinterpret it though. But a lot of the commentary has been hyperbolic and absurd- it’s like she mentioned blackface without immediately condemning it, and now everyone gets to criticize her because she didn’t follow the ritual. She also mentioned [Luann de Lesseps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luann_de_Lesseps) [dressing as Diana Ross](https://peopledotcom.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/luann-de-lesseps.jpg?crop=0px%2C356px%2C1454px%2C764px&resize=1200%2C630) and not understanding what’s wrong with that. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/74 "2018-10-25T19:11:03Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > She also mentioned [Luann de Lesseps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luann_de_Lesseps) [dressing as Diana Ross](https://peopledotcom.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/luann-de-lesseps.jpg?crop=0px%2C356px%2C1454px%2C764px&resize=1200%2C630) and not understanding what’s wrong with that. And? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/75 "2018-10-25T19:15:33Z")
Well, it turned many people upside down. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/76 "2018-10-25T19:20:30Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > And? Her not understanding why it’s not a good idea to dress as someone of the opposite complexion isn’t limited to children? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/77 "2018-10-25T19:30:23Z")
BTW: [this isn’t the first time she’s had backlash from spouting race-related nonsense.](https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2013/12/11/megyn-kelly-wants-kids-at-home-to-know-that-jes/197238) ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/78 "2018-10-25T19:34:18Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Her not understanding why it’s not a good idea to dress as someone of the opposite complexion isn’t limited to children? So someone not white shouldn’t dress as a Disney character that is? Don’t you realize how ridiculous ultra pure virtue signalling is? A white child can’t dress as a character with a tan? C’mon now! ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/79 "2018-10-25T19:35:48Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > So, your argument is one of “due diligence.” > > For example, a lawyer is held to the concept which means that they are responsible to know the things they are supposed to know in order to represent their client, and not making the effort to do so is malpractice. > > As a TV personality Megyn is supposed to understand the political and social landscape well enough to avoid offending her viewers, and embarrassing her network. > > Is that your argument? It’s not due diligence, because I’m not expecting Megyn to hold some sort of unique understanding of the social / political landscape in order to effectively do her job. I’m expecting an adult human being to know what fucking blackface is. I’m expecting an adult human being who thinks they should lecture people about racism to actually have a functional understanding of what blackface is. She felt justified to offer her opinion on race relations (for years!) and she doesn’t fucking know what blackface is about. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437/80 "2018-10-25T19:39:04Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > So someone not white shouldn’t dress as a Disney character that is? Don’t you realize how ridiculous ultra pure virtue signalling is? A white child can’t dress as a character with a tan? C’mon now! “Virtue signalling” is virtually bullshit. Dress as whomever you want, just realize that altering your skin tone to match is not a good idea. Especially for those in the public eye. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megan-kelly-wtf/797437.md?page=5)