The Internet Is Dragging Megyn Kelly For Calling Stephen Colbert A Failure
But given her own history, it didn't go well.
Kelly said on her show Friday that Colbert took The Late Show ― which was started by David Letterman ― and 'completely drove it into the ground.'
'He desperately wanted to be Keith Olbermann,' she said. 'And guess what? Keith Olbermann is a failure, and now so are you, Stephen Colbert.'
Kelly was a longtime host at Fox News, where she drew the ire of then-candidate Donald Trump during a Republican debate in 2015.
'You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes,' Trump infamously complained at the time. ' Blood was coming out of her — wherever.'
She later left Fox and signed a three-year $69 million deal with NBC, which included a Sunday night news magazine show and a third hour of the Today show called Megyn Kelly Today.
But she struggled in the ratings, and was taken off the air after she defended the use of blackface as part of Halloween costumes.
She apologized, but the show was canceled days later after a little more than a year on the air. NBC reportedly paid out her full contract.
After she left, the third hour of the Today show jumped in the ratings by 18%, NBC News reported at the time.
The feed on X (formerly Twitter) for Kelly's show posted her comments about Colbert ― and Kelly's critics fired back with some reminders of her own past:
Hmm. Let me get this right. @StephenAtHome @colbertlateshow had a successful 10-year run on CBS. @megynkelly failed MASSIVELY on NBC. In fact, she will go down as one of the biggest failures in media history. Didn't last 2 years, and they had to pay her $60M-plus. Be quiet, Megyn https://t.co/FfoHIhU8xq
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) July 20, 2025
@rolandsmartin/X / Via x.com
You might want to lighten up on the 'cautionary tale of failure' and do some self reflection before calling anyone else out.
— Dawn Young-McDaniel❌👑 (@justdawn_) July 20, 2025
@justdawn_/x / Via x.com
It is one of the most amazing acts of memory-holing in media history that Kelly pretends that she didn't sell out to NBC after Trump's first election (using her feud with him & saying she was apolitical), & then after she was fired there slowly became a leading MAGA influencer.😂 https://t.co/qefvtFgHzj
— John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) July 21, 2025
@Zigmanfreud/X / Via x.com
What happened when you went to NBC?
— Mark Banker (@themarkbanker) July 20, 2025
@themarkbanker/X / Via x.com
Alright, Megyn, let me lay it on the line for ya. You call Stephen Colbert . @StephenAtHome being a failure? Here's the score:
Colbert's been the undisputed heavyweight champ of late-night TV for years. He's been number one in total viewers and the key 18-49 demographic for…
— Human☮🇺🇸🇺🇦🇺🇸🌊 (@4HumanUnity) July 20, 2025
@4HumanUnity/X / Via x.com
If being fired/cancelled was the barometer for failure, someone should get Meg a mirror. https://t.co/R1rA6KRc0Z
— Mike Therien (@miketherien) July 20, 2025
@miketherien/X / Via x.com
Megyn, who had to crawl back into Trump's good graces after he insulted and humiliated her, calling someone else a failure? https://t.co/5LQ9Rz4QuL
— Rich (@RealRichWilkins) July 21, 2025
@RealRichWilkins/X / Via x.com
Megyn who? LOL The lack of self-awareness among this crowd is really something else. Colbert still has a hit show. As for Megyn… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ https://t.co/qZ7b9qld2J
— John Aravosis 🇺🇸🇬🇷🏳️🌈 (@aravosis) July 21, 2025
@aravosis/X / Via x.com
Like if Kid Rock said Springsteen's a failure.
— Chuck Throckmorton (@ChuckThrock) July 20, 2025
@ChuckThrock/X / Via x.com
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