'Smug' George Clooney blasted by Megyn Kelly for his 'naked partisanship' in explosive 11-minute rant

Daily Mail​

25-04-2025

Megyn Kelly blasted 'smug' George Clooney for his 'naked partisanship' in an explosive 11-minute rant after he mocked her journalism career in a new interview.
Earlier this week, Clooney questioned 'what' Kelly — a former Fox News anchor and host of Sirius XM's The Megyn Kelly Show — has 'done to be a journalist' during his sit-down with Patti LuPone for Variety's Actors on Actors: Broadway series.
The Oscar-winning actor also seemed to suggest that he's done more as a journalist than Kelly while claiming he's 'been shot at to try to get stories out' in conflict-stricken areas like Darfur.
Kelly didn't hold back as she responded to Clooney's remarks during Wednesday's episode of her podcast.
She branded Clooney a 'coward' as she criticized his New York Times op-ed calling for Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race against Donald Trump.
'[Clooney's] starring in a play about Edward R. Murrow because Clooney fancies himself a journalist, you see, and has lots of thoughts on how journalists need to do journalism,' Kelly began, as per PageSix 's transcription.
'He does it mainly by stumbling upon the biggest story of the decade, that a sitting president is mentally infirm and ought to be 25th Amendment'ed right out of office, and then burying it, saying absolutely nothing for weeks on end.
'And then only after that president humiliates himself on the national stage at a Presidential debate, and then refuses to step down as the entire Democrat Party watches its electoral chances up and down the ticket go swirling down the toilet.'
'Finally, he decides to write an op-ed in the New York Times saying Joe Biden is not up for the job,' Kelly continued.
'That's not journalism, George — it's cowardice and naked partisanship. You're not fooling anyone.'
Kelly didn't stop there as she quickly turned her focus to Clooney's Broadway stint.
He is currently appearing in the stage adaptation of his 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck, which centers around real-life pioneering broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow.
She speculated that Clooney's move to the stage was done as a result of Hollywood roles 'getting a little hard to come by' for the actor as he ages.
'So now he's starring in his Broadway show … by the way, what's the matter, George? Are the Hollywood roles getting a little hard to come by as you age and get decidedly more smug and self congratulatory? I'm just asking!'
During his one-on-one interview with LuPone for Variety, Clooney opened up about his left-leaning politics and the backlash he's faced in recent years.
'I don't care much in terms of what they say,' he told LuPone.
Kelly's name was brought up while he discussed the Good Night, and Good Luck play's finale montage which features real footage of Kelly and other prominent people like Trump's right-hand man, Elon Musk.
'We don't tell people what to think when we show that montage at the end, for instance,' he said.
'You see Megyn Kelly, who's come out and said I'm not a journalist. I didn't say I was a journalist.'
Clooney continued: 'I've at least been to Darfur and Sudan and the Congo and been shot at to try to get stories out. I'm not quite sure what she's done to be a journalist.
'Having said that, we only show her words in this play. We don't tell people what to think. It's not out of context. We don't manipulate it. We literally just go, 'These are your words.''
The actor then gave President Donald Trump a rare compliment while making a bold prediction about the Republican Party's future.
Trump recently criticized the Clooney for for his New York Times opinion piece calling for Joe Biden to withdraw as the Democratic presidential nominee last year.
'So now fake movie actor George Clooney, who never came close to making a great movie, is getting into the act,' Trump said at the time. 'He's turned on Crooked Joe like the rats they both are.'
Despite Trump's criticism, Clooney complimented Trump and acknowledged his charm.
'[Republicans] don't have anybody that's as charismatic as him. He's charismatic. There's no taking that away from him. He's a television star,' Clooney said.
Clooney predicted that Trump will 'go away' while discussing the future of the GOP and compared him to other political figures.
'We've done this before. From President Jackson to [Joseph] McCarthy to this, the authoritarian, the demagogue, it goes away when they go away. And he will go away,' he said.
'We've been in much worse places. The only thing that's different is the source of information and how much and how many different sources. It's the only thing that's different.
'But it's not nearly as violent, even though it feels violent. It's not nearly as hopeless as it was at that moment in time.'
In March, Trump slammed Clooney as a 'second rate movie star' as he hit out at the Hollywood legend for comments he made on 60 Minutes.
Clooney spoke about his decision to drop his support for Biden - accusing the Democratic Party of 'cowardice' and covering up the ex-president's ailing health while claiming he was forced to 'tell the truth' in a bombshell op-ed calling for him to step down.
The president quickly responded on Truth Social to blast Clooney and the role he played in Biden's demise.
'Why would the now highly-discredited 60 Minutes be doing a total 'puff piece' on George Clooney, a second-rate movie 'star' and failed political pundit,' he wrote.
Clooney, who has been out promoting his Broadway debut as renowned journalist Edward R Murrow in Good Night and Good Luck, told CBS Mornings he is unphased by Trump's criticism of him.
'I don't care,' Clooney said. 'I've known Donald Trump for a long time. My job is not to please the President of the United States. My job is to try and tell the truth when I can and when I have the opportunity.
'I am well aware of the idea that people will not like that… people will criticize that. Elon Musk has weighed in [about me]. That is their right. It's my right to say the other side.'
Clooney, who in June last year raised $30million at a fundraiser for Biden's 2024 campaign, is largely credited as being the nail in the coffin to Biden dropping his re-election bid.
CNN recently asked the Oscar-winner who he thought should lead the Democrats going forward.
'There's one person in particular I think is spectacular,' he said, before singling out Maryland Governor Moore, who he says is 'levitating above' the rest.
'I think he is a guy that handled this tragedy in Baltimore beautifully. He's two tours of active duty in Afghanistan. He speaks sort of beautifully, he's smart. He's a proper leader.'
Clooney is referring to Baltimore's Key Bridge collapse in early 2024 which killed six maintenance workers.
'I like him a lot, I think he's someone we could all fall in behind,' Clooney added.