Megyn Kelly Claps Back at Ben Shapiro After He Branded Her a 'Coward' — And Blasts CBS' Bari Weiss Over 'Sick' Handling of Erika Kirk Townhall
Megyn Kelly clapped back at Ben Shapiro after he called her a 'coward.'
Dec. 20 2025, Updated 3:14 p.m. ET
Megyn Kelly has clapped back at Ben Shapiro after he called her a "coward" for not denouncing far-right podcast host Candace Owens for promoting conspiracy theories about slain political activist Charlie Kirk, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
While speaking on the first day of TurningPoint USA's AmericaFest on Thursday, December 18, Shapiro, 41, ridiculed his "friend" Kelly, 55, and Owens, 36.
Shapiro Calls Out Kelly at TPUSA's AmericaFest
Shapiro slammed Owens and Kelly while speaking at the TurningPoint USA conference.
During his speech, Shapiro warned conservatives that, as a collective, they're "in danger from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty."
"These people are frauds and they are grifters and they do not deserve your time," he added while pointing to Owens' claims about Kirk's assassination being an inside job.
Shapiro branded Owens' conspiracy theories "absolutely baseless trash" before he called out Kelly for "characterizing Candace as a young mother and thus shying away from condemning her actions."
Kelly Fires Back at Shapiro
Kelly laughed off Shapiro's criticisms of her at TPUSA's AmericaFest.
Kelly took the time to respond to Shapiro's remarks – and throw some shade his way – on a recent episode of The Megyn Kelly Show.
"I found it kind of funny that Ben thinks he has the power to decide who gets excommunicated from the conservative movement, which shows a willful blindness about his position in it," the SiriusXM host said. "It reminded me of when a little girl who was the head of our middle school chorus told me she was going to take all my friends away from me. Chorus? Head cheerleader, maybe?"
"But so I resent the whole thing. I object to the whole thing," she continued. "He had the nerve to call me a friend right before he called me 'a despicable coward' for not calling out the people he wants called out."
Kelly claimed Shapiro 'wants to parent me and be my child.'
The political commentator went on to say Shapiro "both wants to parent me and be my child."
"He wants to tell me what I have to do and who I have to say what to, and then when I don't, he and some of his friends want to act like other victims, because I won't do what they say, they need me, I have to be their daddy and step in to protect them, and I am not their daddy," Kelly added. "And I resent that he thinks he's in a position to decide who must say what to whom and when."
Kelly then declared, "So I don't think we are friends anymore."
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The ex-news host claimed she helped make Shapiro 'a star' when 'nobody knew who the heck' he was.
She noted how she's "been a very good friend to" the right-wing podcaster and helped "make him a star" before taking a dig at Shapiro.
"Nobody knew who the heck Ben Shapiro was when I started putting him on my shows on the Fox News Channel, and I helped make him a star. And I've been very, very good to Ben over the years, and he's been good to me too," Kelly said. "He just recently came on my tour and to you (Jack Posobiec), and I gave him the most kind introduction I could possibly give him, because I know that he's losing subscribers – a lot."
