Megyn Kelly Torches Sheriff in Nancy Guthrie Disappearance For Telling Media 'Don't Be So Mean' in Reporting — 'It's What We Get Paid to Do'
Megyn Kelly ripped Chris Nanos for telling the media to 'knock it off' about some of their reporting.
Feb. 20 2026, Published 4:26 p.m. ET
Megyn Kelly unleashed on Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos after he scolded the media for their coverage of Nancy Guthrie's abduction, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Kelly took particular offense to how Nanos seemed to think the media should be treating the case with kid gloves when it came to reporting that Savannah Guthrie's brother-in-law "may be" a prime suspect, stating she's "not in the business to be liked."
Chris Nanos Flip Flops on Whether The Guthrie Family Has Been 'Cleared'
Chris Nanos changed his tune several times over the course of four days about whether or not the Guthries were 'involved.''
During an appearance on Sky News Australia, Kelly torched Nanos for not being able to keep his language straight when discussing whether Tommaso Cioni was a suspect in the disappearance.
On February 15, he claimed, "Nobody has been cleared as suspects."
One day later, he stated the opposite, telling the media, "The Guthrie family — to include all siblings and spouses — has been cleared as possible suspects in this case."
Nanos then scolded reporters covering the disappearance, complaining, "I am telling everyone, effective today, you guys need to knock it off, quit. People are hurting. They are victims. I am saying they are clear. We have cleared them," about the Guthries.
Megyn Kelly Takes Issue With Chris Nanos' Verbiage
Megyn Kelly criticized the sheriff's back and forth changing language regarding suspects in the Nancy Guthrie case.
The PCSD changed its wording once again on February 17, stating, "The Guthrie family has not been identified as suspects," which caused Kelly to stress that "is very different from has been cleared."
"Okay. I also have not been identified as a suspect, but I'm in absolutely no legal jeopardy on that case because I live in Connecticut," the SiriusXM star sneered.
Kelly went on to describe both her own reporting and that of journalist Ashleigh Banfield, where their sources said to "stay on" Cioni as a possible suspect, since he was the last person to see Nancy alive after dropping her off at her Tucson, Arizona, home on January 31. Hours later, the elderly grandmother was abducted.
'We're the Media, We Are Mean'
Megyn Kelly called out Sheriff Chris Nanos during an appearance on Sky News Australia's 'Paul Murray Live.'
Kelly mused, "If law enforcement ever contacted me and said, 'I'm going to give you a tip, but I need you to keep this confidential for the integrity of the investigation, I would honor that. But that's not what this sheriff is doing. He's saying, 'Don't be so mean. Okay?'"
"Sorry, we're the media, sir. Like, we are mean. I don't know who ever told you we weren't mean, okay? It's what we get paid to do," the former Fox News host laughed
"We're not in the 'I want to be liked business.' We're in the 'I want to report news business,'" Kelly declared to Nanos.
"So, we don't know what the truth is at this point. But you don't, as the reporter covering this, or frankly, as the police, rule anybody out until you see handcuffs on somebody. And even then, you might have a few questions left," the conservative firebrand proclaimed.
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'Feel Free to Stay on Him'
Megyn Kelly said her source told her 'feel free to stay on' Tommaso Cioni as a suspect in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.
Kelly defended her coverage of how Cioni "may be" a prime suspect.
She noted how Banfield's "impeccable" source has continued to assure her, "You're on the target. Don't worry," about her reporting.
Kelly said her own sources also told her to "feel free to stay on him" about Cioni.
She claimed that it "would be completely inappropriate for me to spend no time" on Savannah's brother-in-law. "He was the last person to see Nancy Guthrie. I mean, you know, that we know of."
"Obviously, an abductor came into the house later that night, but he was the person who had Nancy at his house earlier in the evening and says he dropped her back off at her house at 9:48 p.m. the night she disappeared. Obviously, we have to look at the brother-in-law,"
Nancy hasn't been seen since Cioni dropped her off at home. A masked man armed with a gun appeared on her Nest doorbell camera around 1:48 a.m. the next morning. Nancy was abducted shortly thereafter and has not been heard from in the agonizing last 20 days, despite a massive law enforcement search effort.
