Kathryn Murdoch granted a rare interview to The New York Times in which she spoke at no great length about her work with the environment, her husband James and her very famous extended family.
The 47-year-old wife of Rupert Murdoch’s younger son also compared her father-in-law to her husband, noting: ‘I think James has shown himself to be a very different leader from his father.’
James is now free from his role at Fox News after his brother Lachlan took the reins, and he and Kathryn are funding a number of environmental programs after she was motivated to join the cause during a presentation by Al Gore.
‘I decided to switch everything I was doing,’ explained Kathryn.
‘I wanted to be able to look my children in the eye and say “I did everything I could.”‘
Murdoch she wrote: Kathryn Murdoch (above with James in 2016) is speaking out about her philanthropic endeavors in a rare interview with The New York Times
Pals: She calls herself a ‘radical centrist’ and credits a 2006 talk by Al Gore with motivating her to become a climate activist (Kathryn with Bill Clinton and Sir David King in 2012)
‘I’m not saying I have all the answers — I don’t,’ explained Kathryn of her work.
‘But what I know and what I feel very strongly is that sitting around not doing anything is the wrong answer.’
She explained that she is ‘very comfortable staying in the background and continuing to work quietly,’ something she has made very clear for quite some time now, before adding: ‘I’ve decided doing that means I’m not working hard enough, I’m not doing everything in my power to do.’
Kathryn, who refers to herself as a ‘radical centrist,’ also got in a dig about her extended family and Fox News while discussing her work.
‘There hasn’t been a Republican answer on climate change,’ sad Kathryn.
‘There’s just been denial and walking away from the problem. There needs to be one.’
DailyMail.com uncovered a photo earlier this year that showed the terse exchange between Lachlan Murdoch, his sister-in-law and a former speechwriter for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
The New York Times had reported that Jon Lovett was at the annual party in Los Angeles when he began talking to Kathryn Murdoch, who is the wife of James.
Kathryn, well aware of how Lovett felt about Fox News, offered to introduce him to Lachlan, and later that night followed through on that promise.
Lachlan can be seen in the photo staring down Lovett while the media scion’s wife Sarah stands nearby.
The three are not the focus of the image and rather in the background of the shot, which shows Oscar winner Renee Zellweger posing with Lovett’s longtime boyfriend Ronan Farrow.
Lovett, a former speechwriter for Obama and Hillary Clinton, was reportedly less than thrilled when he arrived to the party and learned that he would be seated with a member of the Murdoch family according to a source.
That all changed when he began to speak with Kathryn, who had supported his former boss in the 2016 election, prompting a text from her father-in-law early in the evening on election night that read: ‘I think your girl’s going to win.’
Drama: She also spoke about her husband James and father-in-law Rupert by stating: ‘I think James has shown himself to be a very different leader from his father’ (pair above in 2013)
How to win friends and influence people: This is the terse conversation between speechwriter Jon Lovett and Lachlan Murdoch (above) that was detailed in The New York Times expose of the Murdochs
Drawing an audience: That photo showed Lovett and Lachlan in the background of a shot that was taken of Lovett’s boyfriend Ronan Farrow and Renee Zellweger (guests are seen on right staring on as conversation gets heated)
Kathryn then offered to introduce Lovett to her brother-in-law later in the evening when the topic of Fox News came up at the table.
‘I don’t need to talk to this person. It’s not going to be pleasant for anyone,’ said Lovett.
Nevertheless, she persisted.
Lovett ultimately proved to be a man of his word, approaching Lachlan asking: ‘Do you feel proud of what’s happening between 8 and 11 every night?’
Lachlan responded that he was, and said the show’s primetime lineup of Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham were doing a ‘great job.’
He then asked Lovett if there were any conservatives he would be happy to see on the channel, at which point Kathryn reportedly began listing off a number of anti-Trump Republicans.
At that point Lachlan reportedly turned away to join another conversation.
Kathryn and James have been married for 19 years and live in New York with their three children.