Source: Todd Williamson / Getty
Donald Trump took to Twitter this morning to complain about fake news, but it’s doubtful he had Alex Jones in mind while he was penning his mini-missives. Elsewhere on Twitter, however, there was an uproar over Megyn Kelly’s interview with the peddler of bizarre conspiracy theories, from Pizzagate to the idea that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax.
It seems like there was almost no way for this interview to go well, given the subject’s proclivity for nonsensical rants, and considering that Kelly left out one crucial side to the story she was reporting — perspectives from the Sandy Hook parents who have to live with Jones’ accusations they are actors paid to perform grief by the United States government for … reasons.
Megyn Kelly has tried to defend the interview, claiming that she is trying to “shine a light” on not only Jones’ dangerous hoax narrative, but also on President Trump’s seeming approval of Jones’ work on Infowars. Trump recently granted Infowars a temporary White House press credential in May.
The interview hasn’t even aired yet (it is, in glaring oversight and cruel irony, scheduled for Father’s Day), but the fallout has already been considerable. Sandy Hook Parents have already dropped Megyn Kelly as host of the Sandy Hook Promise gala, a fundraising event that honors victims of gun violence. On June 12th, Sandy Hooky Promise released a statement announcing that Kelly was axed. “Sandy Hook Promise cannot support the decision by Megyn or NBC to give any form of voice or platform to Alex Jones,” it explained. “It is our hope that Megyn and NBC reconsider and not broadcast this interview.”
On top of that, the Wall Street Journal reports that J.P. Morgan Chase has yanked its advertising from not only Megyn Kelly’s show, but all NBC programing until after the interview runs, so as not to be associated with it. In fact, Chase’s chief marketing officer Kristen Lemkau even Tweeted an explanation of that decision. She didn’t hold back, tweeting, “As an advertiser, I’m repulsed that @megynkelly would give a second of airtime to someone who says Sandy Hook and Aurora are hoaxes.”
https://twitter.com/KLemkau/status/874224702067281920
Lemkau wasn’t the only one to tweet her displeasure. Most importantly, Nelba Márquez-Greene, whose daughter Ana Grace was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting and whose son Isaiah survived, has been vocal in her opposition to the interview.
https://twitter.com/Nelba_MG/status/874105449980801024
https://twitter.com/Nelba_MG/status/874407898876715008
https://twitter.com/Nelba_MG/status/874083940642037760
Kelly has issued a statement to express disappointment at how her gala appearance was cancelled, but she’s standing by her “shine the light” claim.
READ MORE: Uproxx.com
Article Courtesy of Uproxx
First Picture Courtesy of Todd Williamson and Getty Images
Tweets and Second Picture Courtesy of Twitter and Uproxx
