Megyn Kelly faces backlash over COVID tweet

Conservative media personality Megyn Kelly sparked criticism this week with a tweet expressing outrage at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) decision to add a coronavirus inoculation to the required list of vaccinations for school children.

“A scary # of kids are dying after taking the Covid vax — from myocarditis among other injuries,” Kelly wrote in her post on Wednesday afternoon. “HOW DARE THE CDC ADD THIS TO ITS LIST OF SCHOOL VACCINATIONS? Don’t listen. Be v careful w/ your teenage boys in partic but girls too. These are not honest brokers. This is dangerous!”

The former cable news anchor turned podcaster was met with a swarm of backlash in the hours that followed her post, with critics pointing to a lack of evidence Kelly had provided.

Some Twitter users noted the lucrative television contracts Kelly was given by a number of large news companies before she left the mainstream media to pursue a podcasting career.

“Seems like a good day to remind people that NBC wound up paying Megyn Kelly more than $30 million (the time left on her contract) NOT to do journalism there,” wrote Brian Lowry, CNN’s media critic.

“Do you have a link to a source showing that ‘scary # of kids?'” the prominent pollster Frank Luntz wrote in response to Kelly. “Also, the CDC doesn’t have authority to mandate vaccines for schoolchildren — school vaccination lists are left up to states and local jurisdictions.”

Kelly separately sparked pushback this week with comments blasting Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, over her statements that she felt objectified while serving as a suitcase holder on the popular gameshow “Deal or No Deal.”