Megyn Kelly faced fresh backlash on Monday after speaking out against Russell Brand’s 10-year prison sentence, with several fans voicing their disappointment in the conservative pundit.
During Monday’s episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show,” the commentator weighed in on the comedian’s legal loss, where he was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in a London criminal trial last week. In the episode, Kelly blasted the sentence as “an outrage,” adding, “This is an obvious double standard. And if you needed any further proof that this is a political witch hunt against Russell Brand, that judge just gave it to us.”
“Good Lord. 10 and a half years in prison,” Kelly noted elsewhere in the episode. “He grabbed a boob. He kissed a lady. He sniffed a lady. And he had backdoor sex with a woman who licked his backdoor before she was even introduced to him … This is insane.”
Kelly’s outrage over the update in Brand’s case prompted a strong reaction online, with several critics slamming the pundit for her stance in support of the comedian.
“But Brand is a rapist. He’s always been a creep, but now his predatory history is coming to light,” one critic wrote in response on X. “What the victim did before saying NO! doesn’t matter. She has the right to say No. How he treated her and the other victims is appalling. Mind you, so is your support for the rapist.”
Another critic expressed a similar sentiment, succinctly writing, “Your take on RB is so disappointing.” A third X user accused Kelly of loving “to defend rapists.” A fourth X user slammed the podcast host by writing, “Nobody cares what you say or think anymore.”
This is not the first time that Kelly has spoken out in defense of Brand during his high-stakes trial. In fact, Kelly was flamed just last week for seemingly victim blaming one of Brand’s accusers following the verdict.
“She admitted that w/in moments of meeting RB backstage, she used her tongue on his anus (as another woman was fellating him),” Kelly wrote at the time. “She hadn’t even been introduced. Later she went to his place excited for sex (which they had). The two discussed anal sex b/4 hvg it – she said it was her 1st time. Her friend testified that the accuser admitted to her that she agreed to it (told RB ‘be gentle’). RB testified they watched tv together after. When a reporter first contacted accuser about RB she said ‘I’m not sure my story has much in it; I was an idiot, young & stupid, probably as much to blame.’”
As we reported at the time, the replies in her tweet quickly filled up with people criticizing her for defending Brand, including one scathing post that read: “Why do you go out of your way to defend rapists? Is it a kink for you? What’s going on with this.”
A representative for Kelly did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
