Megyn Kelly, McKinney, And The “Media Matters Lie” That Wasn't

Kelly Falsely Accuses Media Matters Of Taking Her Out Of Context

Written by Zachary Pleat

Published

Fox News host Megyn Kelly lashed out at “the left wing press” for highlighting comments she made about a viral video showing police officer Eric Casebolt manhandling a teenage girl at a pool party in McKinney, Texas. But Media Matters correctly described Kelly's June 8 comments where she claimed that the teenage girl attacked in the video shared some of the fault for the actions of the officer, arguing that the girl was “no saint either” because she didn't follow the officer's instructions. Kelly's remarks sparked widespread outrage in liberal and conservative media.

On the June 10 edition of her show Kelly said that “some of the left-wing press continue to use this incident to dishonestly push their own agenda.” She claimed that Salon.com “repeat[ed] a Media Matters lie” that Kelly leapt to Casebolt's defense “by saying that this teen was, quote, 'no saint either.'”

But Media Matters included the full context of Kelly's comments in a June 8 post detailing Fox News personalities' reaction to the controversial video:

Fox News host Megyn Kelly responded to the brutal video showing a teen girl being manhandled by a Texas police officer by commenting that “the girl was no saint either. He had told her to leave, and she continued to linger. And when the cop tells you to leave, get out.” She followed this by saying “I'm not defending his actions, let me make that clear.”

Conservative media outlets also criticized Kelly's coverage. The Washington Examiner reported that “Megyn Kelly defends Texas cop's aggressive response to McKinney teenagers,” noting that “Kelly claimed that while she was not defending Casebolt, [the girl] was not completely blameless either.” Reason.com also criticized Kelly in a post, writing:

Some conservatives, unfortunately, are falling over themselves to defend the police--the one kind of public employee who can do no wrong in the eyes of all-too many people on the right. Media Matters compiled a disheartening list of Fox News personalities raising baseless hypotheticals that could (maybe) justify Casebolt's rash actions.