NBC may want to do a little bit more research before they start booking guests on Megyn Kelly’s new morning show.
In at least three videos from 2014, Megyn welcomed guests on her program to trash Jane Fonda while also taking some shots of her own at the Oscar winner.
In one interview with Dennis Miller in June of that year, Megyn smiled while saying that ‘things went south’ for the actress after her role in ‘Barbarella.’
She continued to laughed as Miller said that Fonda ‘made sense’ to him when she played the the title character in that film, a voluptuous space traveler from the planet Earth who spent most of her time in little to no clothing.
Fonda may have been a laughing stock to the Fox News host then, but she got the last laugh on Wednesday when she shut down Megyn’s attempt to get her to open up about her plastic surgery on her new NBC show.
And social media users were quick to show their support for Fonda, with former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell writing: ‘I think Megan Kelly is an a** and Jane Fonda exposing her for the lightweight she is was wonderful! You can take the girl out of Fox..,,, ;)’
Sarah Michelle Gellar also weighed in, stating: ‘So how come @MegynKelly didn’t ask @RobertRedford if he had any plastic surgery?? Way to stay composed @JaneFonda #DoubleStandard.’
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Blast from the past: Megyn Kelly mocked Jane Fonda in a June 2014 episode of ‘The Kelly File’ (above)
Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell writing: ‘I think Megan Kelly is an a** and Jane Fonda exposing her for the lightweight she is was wonderful!’
Weighing in: Sarah Michelle Gellar called out Megyn Kelly for the double standard (above)
Shade: Justin Root made a more humorous swipe at Megyn (above)
Not happy: Fonda looked Kelly straight in the eye after her plastic surgery question and asked: ‘We really want to talk about that right now?’
Just a few months before Megyn and Miller went after Fonda in 2014, the host also called out then-first lady Michelle Obama for saying she admired the actress’ political savvy.
‘The thing is, if she had just said I want to have a body like Jane Fonda when I’m 76 most women would say, “yeah, me too,” said Megyn.
‘But when she named the political savvy and said she was someone she wanted to live like she crossed over into territory where people would criticize her.’
That might explain why Fonda was so composed in the face of Megyn’s attempts to direct the interview about her work in her new film into a discussion about her body and aging.
‘Jane Fonda vs Megyn Kelly is like Muhammad Ali vs the understudy of the person who wiped up Ali’s sweat,’ said author Molly Knight.
‘Megyn Kelly is over. Call the fight.’
She went on to write: ‘She doesn’t want to talk about politics anymore, so she is free to spend her unearned millions founding the White Santa Institute.’
Knight closed out by saying: ‘When a woman goes on your television show to talk about her work, do not ask about her body.’
Justin Root took a more humorous approach, writing: ‘I’m taking a knee every time I see Megyn Kelly interview someone.’
Megyn sat down with Fonda on Wednesday, and in an ill-advised and poorly conceived move, decided to ask the 79-year-old actress to detail the plastic surgery she has had done over the years.
‘You, you’ve been an example to everyone, on how to age beautifully and with strength. And unapologetically,’ began Megyn, nervously drawing out her question.
‘You admit you had work done. I think it’s to your credit. You look amazing. Have you … why did you say .. I read you felt you’re not proud to admit you had work done, why not?’
At that moment a steely Fonda stared Megyn straight in the eyes and very firmly asked: ‘We really want to talk about that now?’
Megyn tried her best to salvage the question, with Fonda at that point glancing over to her guest Robert Redford in disbelief that she was being asked that question while out promoting the pair’s new film, ‘Our Souls at Night.’
‘Well, one of the things people think about when they look at you, is how amazing you look,’ said Megyn.
A composed-as-ever but noticeably chilly Fonda at that point demurred: ‘Thanks. Good attitude. Good posture. Take care of myself.’
She then took control of the interview from Megyn by telling the host: ‘Let me tell you why I love this movie that we did, “Our Souls at Night,” rather than plastic surgery.’
Redford then looked at his co-star and showed his support for her by laughing and saying: ‘Back to that, huh.’
Just like fire: Fonda looked stunning on the Emmy red carpet in a Brandon Maxwell gown last week (above)
Fonda then launched into her own talk about the film, no longer waiting or wanting to take one of Kelly’s questions.
‘You kind of have a choice in life, when you get to be close to 80, or even before then, what you want to do with your life. And my character, Addie, in this movie, she knows there’s a lot more time behind her than in front,’ explained Fonda.
‘And she doesn’t want to go down lonely and scared. She’s been a widow, living in this house by herself. And she’s lonely and scared. And she’s a shy person, who is not someone who would normally do this. But she girds her loins and decides…’
Redford jumped in saying: ‘That’s where I come in. You need to be girded.’
Redford later sang the praises of his co-star, who he previously worked with on such films as ‘Barefoot In the Park’ and ‘The Chase.’
‘One of the things I like about Jane that’s manifest in this film, is she is a force. As long as I’ve known Jane, she always has been moving forward. And doesn’t look back,’ said Redford.
‘And whatever pain, whatever problem she’s had in the past, remains in the past. And she keeps moving forward. It’s an admirable quality. And few people have it like Jane does.’
Screen stunners: Redford and Fonda most famously starred in the 1967 film ‘Barefoot in the Park,’
The rest of the interview was a wash, with Megyn getting no response from Fonda when she launched into a bit about how she was an aerobics instructor for 10 years shortly after the actress released her bestselling exercise tapes.
And to close it all out, Fonda drove home just how little she cared for Megyn’s questions and how proud she was of her looks and how she has aged when the host asked her guests: ‘On behalf of our audience member, Victoria wanted to ask, if you could go back to any age in your life, what would it be? I ask that to both of you.’
Fonda very curtly replied: ‘Right now. I wouldn’t want any other time.’
It was a brilliant response from Fonda, who is a global ambassador for cosmetics giant L’Oreal and just last week dazzled on the red carpet at the Emmy Awards.
Fonda has indeed spoken about procedures she has had done in the past, but only while promoting her fitness and wellness projects.
This latest debacle comes after Messing, the Emmy-winning star of ‘Will & Grace,’ was asked on Instagram why she appeared on the show with her fellow cast members on Monday.
‘But why did you guys do the Megyn Kelly show? That’s a fail!!’ asked a fan of the actress.
Messing immediately responded to the question, stating: ‘Honestly I didn’t know it was MK until that morning. The itinerary just said Today Show appearance. Regret going on. Dismayed by her comments.’
Side-eye surprise: Debra Messing was asked by an Instagram follower why she and the cast of ‘Will & Grace’ appeared on ‘Megyn Kelly Today’ on Monday (l to r: Megan Mullally, Sean Hayes, Debra Messing)
TV’s newest drama: ‘Honestly I didn’t know it was MK until that morning. The itinerary just said Today Show appearance,’ wrote Messing (above)
Megyn has a made a number of controversial comments in the past about the LGBT community.
On one episode of ‘The Kelly File’ she told Family Research Council head Tony Perkins: ‘Gay rights are more and more protected in this country, Christian beliefs and Christian rights, not so much.’
That clip was highlighted on Sunday when it appeared in a clip package that aired on ‘Last Week Tonight.’
Megyn provided Perkins with a platform to spread his anti-gay message on her Fox News show throughout the years, as he appeared over 30 times to speak with the anchor.
Her questions to the cast of ‘Will & Grace’ on Monday meanwhile were shockingly banal and had all been asked and answered by the actors countless times before in the 10 months since they reunited to film a short video in support of Hillary Clinton ahead of the election last year.
That segment then ended on an incredibly awkward note after a gay superfan, Russell Turner, briefly joined the group on stage for some hugs with the cast and a minute-log interview with Megyn.
Doing their own thing: The cast was seen in an Instagram post shared by the show ignoring the host during a commercial break
The brief interview with Turner began with Megyn asking if it was true that he became both a lawyer and gay because of the show and its leading man, played by actor Eric McCormack.
Turner jokingly affirmed that was in fact the case, while also kindly providing a bit of color and humor to the polar question by adding that Will had the perfect ‘trifecta’ in that he was gay, a lawyer and had the ‘best apartment in New York City.’
He was then tossed back into the audience after his one question, with Megyn sending him off by stating: ‘I don’t know about the lawyer thing. But I think the ‘Will & Grace’ thing and the gay thing will work out great.’
That comment appears to be the one that upset Messing and others on Twitter.
‘Megyn Kelly is every mom trying waaaaay to hard to ‘relate’ to her gay son but instead just makes it waaaaay worse,’ wrote Will Kellogg.
”I think the Will & Grace thing and the gay thing are going to work out great,’ Megyn Kelly said to a gay W&G superfan this morning. Really,’ commented Kevin Fallon.
In a subsequent tweet he described the moment by stating: ‘It is what it looks like to watch $15 million set on fire in real time.’
And Josh Scheer wrote: ‘I think the ‘gay thing’ is probably gonna work out a lot better than @MegynKelly’s ‘@Today thing.”
However Sean Hayes who plays Jack McFarland in the show shared a picture to Twitter saying he was ‘having fun’ at the show.
And a source who was at the show said: ‘She was obviously making a joke, that was clear to the ‘superfan’ – who was ecstatic, and the audience.
‘It became even clearer when she spent much of the interview asking the show’s creators how proud they were of the positive social impact of Will & Grace and the progress it brought about for gay rights.’