After being accused of menstruating while moderating the first Republican debate, Fox News host Megyn Kelly became an unexpected darling of the liberal media thanks to her asking tough questions and speaking out against Donald Trump's sexism. Bill Maher went as far as to joke afterward that Kelly is "the sane one over there at Fox News."
But Kelly takes issue with that label. During a recent conversation with Time, The Kelly File host explained to her interviewer in no uncertain terms why it is problematic for liberals to champion her as Fox News' "voice of reason":
Bill [Maher] was making the point that you have firebrands like [Sean] Hannity, people like [Bill] O'Reilly, and you come out looking sane and reasonable by comparison. Do you worry about [Fox News'] reputation?
No. Nor do I think a criticism from a man who refers to women as the c-word should wind up in a Time piece. You're putting yourself out there if you want to use that.
I think Fox News is just like any news organization in that we have editorial and we have news [...] You know, would you ask that question of Savannah Guthrie, you know, when she was doing the 9 a.m. over on MSNBC? We're not MSNBC. But nobody ever asks that when the commentators are left-leaning. We get that at Fox because the right-leaning commentators are a problem for certain reporters, and they feel the need to ask straight news journalists whether they want to be associated with that. In my view, that is your bias talking. That says nothing about Fox or me. [Time]
Kelly added that she is not trying to appeal to any kind of person in particular. "Listen, I will take any viewer who wants to tune in," she said. "I don't go out there to do the show to appeal to conservatives or liberals or independents. I am independent. But I just want anybody to watch. I don't care why." Read the full interview in Time.