Megyn Kelly proudly bared her ignorance of social norms by unabashedly wondering what exactly was so wrong with Blackface. Especially on Halloween, she argued on her NBC talk show Tuesday morning.
What is racist?” she asked somewhat rhetorically when she and the other white people on her panel were inexplicably charged with deciding what is and isn’t offensive to Black people. “When I was a kid, that was OK, so long as you were dressing up as a character.”
We won’t even get into how NBC canceled a morning show hosted by Tamron Hall and Al Roker so that the network could reward Kelly with a $69 million contract that has resulted in low ratings. Chances are, had Tamron and Al been at the helm moderating the same discussion, things wouldn’t have gone left so quickly, or at all. Regret has grown over the decision to let Tamron Hall go; it probably grew a bit more on Tuesday, too. But we digress…
To be clear, blackface has its roots firmly planted in American racism, including and especially minstrel shows back in the 19th century that featured white actors who painted their faces black to act like slaves and newly freed Black people. It was these minstrel shows that largely contributed to the many negative, racial stereotypes that have been associated with Black people for well over a century.
Of course, no one on the panel tried to correct her, leaving her virtually unchecked for being so wildly inaccurate on such a well-documented topic. So social media users took it upon themselves to educate Megyn Kely about the errors of her apparently oblivious ways.
Below is but a brief sampling of the chorus of sarcastic responses that resonated across the Twittersphere.
Megyn Kelly Wonders What’s Wrong With Blackface. The Internet Let Her Know was originally published on newsone.com
1. Don’t forget how NBC treated Tamron Hall and Al Roker
NBC cancelled the 9am hour of the Today Show hosted by Tamron Hall and Al Roker so Megyn Kelly, who gets paid more than twice their combined salaries, can do this. https://t.co/yINbQ8wptr
— ☕netw3rk (@netw3rk) October 23, 2018
2. Disbelief
I thought this might have been an exaggeration, but no, Megyn Kelly is really doing a “I don’t see what’s so offensive about blackface” https://t.co/xtECr43UMg
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) October 23, 2018
3. White privilege
Don't you love how Megyn Kelly:
— Elon James White is ANTIFA & ITS TOO LATE! 🤣 (@elonjames) October 23, 2018
1) Thinks Black Face is the same as if a Black person put on make up to look white. Power dynamics? Meh.
2) Says that it was okay to do that when she was a kid.
Megyn? It was never okay. That's your white privilege talking.
Again. https://t.co/hy6mZVwX0T
4. No one told Megyn Kelly she was wrong
5. Honest thoughts
Breaking News: Megyn Kelly is still trash.#TuesdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/pUgM39WdvB
— Jackie 🌊🌊🌊 (@LiberalMmama) October 23, 2018
6. Religious take
Megyn Kelly:
— Gary (@BlackerTheGary) October 23, 2018
“Santa is white”
“Jesus is white”
“I don’t see what’s so offensive about blackface”
🤦🏾♂️😒💆🏾♂️
7. Ridicule
Great Megyn Kelly costume. pic.twitter.com/dOziMbWzfH
— Feed Me Bridgers™ (@TimDuffy) October 23, 2018
8. Blame in on Trump
I think for what is going on with this administration and all of the racist people out there and many incidents that people have encounter due to racism Megyn Kelly just open another can of worms with her comment. pic.twitter.com/ED9asvHPEF
— The Atheist Geek (@geek_atheist) October 23, 2018
9. This is par for the course for Megyn Kelly
1. Going back to her days at Fox News Megyn Kelly has had a history of being racially/culturally incompetent and unaware 2. Keep in mind NBC dumped the 9am hr of The Today show hosted by Tamron Hall and Al Roker in favor Megyn Kelly and this kind of foolishness and ignorance. https://t.co/cURaIxZyPh
— BrotherJR aka Brotha Wakanda (@BrotherJR76) October 23, 2018
10. Sarcasm
11. The apologetic Black person chimes in
12. Humor
Black people: “When white people wear blackface we find it incredibly hurtful to us. It’s racist and we hope you all can see that.”
— Setoiyo (@Setoiyo1) October 23, 2018
Megyn Kelly: https://t.co/B2OXvPO1zN
13. Megyn Kelly: White people are “normal people”
Megyn Kelly can't understand what's so offensive about blackface then says: "I can't keep up with the number of people we're offending just by being, like, normal people."@megynkelly: 1. You've never been black 2. This isn't "normal," it's white privilege and it's embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/tHPjulPZ1P
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) October 23, 2018
14. Black folks’ collective side-eye
Megyn Kelly: “What’s wrong with blackface?”
— JaiHawkFLY (@JaiHawkFly) October 23, 2018
pic.twitter.com/G8axCeTTQr
