Megyn Kelly expresses horror, sympathy over Pizzagate in first interview with Comet Ping Pong owner

Megyn Kelly expressed disbelief, horror, and sympathy in an exclusive first interview with Comet Ping Pong owner James Alefantis following the Pizzagate scare that erupted two weeks ago. Alefantis and the staff of his restaurant were targeted by a gunman after a viral fake news story suggested Bill and Hillary Clinton ran a child sex ring out of their D.C. pizza parlor; no one was injured.

"When people talk about fake news, you know, a lot of folks just roll their eyes, like 'oh, you know, whatever, people will figure it out.' The truth is, they don't always figure it out," Kelly told Alefantis. "And someone could have been killed inside of your restaurant for no good reason other than people like Alex Jones fanned a conspiracy theory that even the D.C. police say has no basis in fact."

"This has real consequences," Alefantis agreed. "My staff lives in fear. My staff are the bravest people I've ever met … Imagine someone coming to your work place with an assault rife."

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"And to be accused of being a pedophile because you have emails that talk about pizza," Kelly said, in utter disbelief. "When you run a pizza parlor. I mean, they're like, 'the word 'pizza' seems out of place' — it's really gone down the rabbit hole."

Kelly also gave Alefantis an opportunity to explain an Instagram photo that conspiracy theorists had cited as evidence of the sex ring, but not without offering this preface: "You're a Democratic donor. There's nothing illegal about that. It doesn't make you a pedophile or somebody who's part of a child sex ring." Watch below. Jeva Lange