Comedian John Oliver Joins Growing Outcry Over Megyn Kelly's Epstein Remarks
British-American comedian John Oliver has become the latest high-profile figure to condemn television host Megyn Kelly for her controversial comments about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. During Sunday's episode of his HBO programme Last Week Tonight, Oliver delivered a scathing critique of what he termed Kelly's 'pedophile math'.
The Controversial Comments That Sparked Fury
The controversy began on November 12 during Kelly's podcast, where the former Fox News host attempted to qualify Epstein's sexual preferences. Kelly claimed she knew 'somebody very, very close to this case' who stated Epstein 'was not a pedophile' but was instead 'into the barely legal type'.
In her most contentious remark, Kelly stated: 'He wasn't into eight-year-olds, but he liked the very young, teen types.' This attempt to distinguish between different categories of underage victims immediately provoked widespread anger across social media platforms and among fellow celebrities.
Celebrity Backlash and Social Media Storm
Oliver wasn't alone in his condemnation. Melissa Gilbert, star of Little House on the Prairie, responded directly to Kelly via Instagram, advising her to 'be careful with your words'. Meanwhile, Christina Ricci of Yellowjackets and Addams Family fame shared even stronger criticism, declaring Kelly 'a danger to children' on her Instagram Stories.
The online fury intensified as users questioned why Kelly appeared to be defending a convicted sex offender. Many highlighted that Epstein's victims were allegedly as young as 14 years old according to the indictment used when he was charged with sex trafficking of minors in July 2019.
Oliver's Scathing Critique on Last Week Tonight
John Oliver addressed the controversy directly during his November programme, playing the clip of Kelly's comments to his audience. 'That clip starts with 'I know somebody who's super in the middle of all the Epstein s***' and it somehow gets sketchier from there,' Oliver remarked as the audience laughed.
He specifically targeted what he called 'pedophile math', stating: 'If I'm understanding you here - and I am definitely not - 'Epstein wasn't into eight-year-olds, he was just into very young teens...'' Oliver added the powerful line: 'Look, I'm clearly no stranger to sharing upsetting numbers to my audience, but please do kill me if I ever start doing pedophile math.'
Broader Context and Political Developments
The controversy emerged as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released 20,000 pages of documents received from Epstein's estate. In a significant development, former President Donald Trump reversed his previous position, urging Republican lawmakers to vote for releasing the Epstein files, declaring 'we have nothing to hide'.
The House is expected to vote on whether to release the files as they debate the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Meanwhile, Epstein's death by hanging in his New York prison cell on August 10, 2019 while awaiting trial continues to fuel public interest in the case.
The widespread condemnation of Kelly's comments underscores the sensitivity surrounding discussions of sexual abuse and the importance of careful language when addressing such traumatic subjects, particularly when involving minors.
