Bari Weiss Privately Lobbied Megyn Kelly to Participate in a CBS Town Hall With ‘Call Her Daddy’ Host Alex Cooper: Report

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss reportedly tried getting Megyn Kelly to participate in a town hall on feminism with Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper.

Over the last few days, Weiss and Kelly have been involved in an escalating feud that started at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest. There, commentator Ben Shapiro blasted his fellow conservatives for their supposed refusal to condemn Candace Owens and her conspiracy theories about the death of Charlie Kirk. During his speech, he specifically called out Kelly and Tucker Carlson. That speech was later transcribed and published on Weiss’s The Free Press. Weiss then promoted the article, titled “Only Cowards Tolerate Conspiracy Theorists,” on social media.

That drew the ire of Kelly, who’s repeatedly called Weiss a “coward” in response. On Tuesday, Kelly declared she was done “being a polite friend” to Weiss and that there was “more truth coming.”

Weeks earlier, however, Weiss apparently wanted Kelly to participate in her new town hall series on CBS. The report from Vanity Fair’s Aidan McLaughlin continued:

The controversy is the latest in a series of hurdles for CBS News under Weiss, who was handpicked by new Paramount Skydance boss David Ellison to serve as the outlet’s editor in chief earlier this year after Paramount acquired The Free Press, a successful digital media start-up she cofounded. Before announcing a new CBS town hall and debate series, Weiss, according to two sources, spent weeks lobbying Megyn Kelly to participate in a debate on feminism with Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper, to no avail. This was before Weiss promoted Ben Shapiro’s broadside against Kelly at Turning Point’s annual conference, triggering a searing response from the conservative commentator.

Weiss kicked off the town hall series with a sit-down interview with Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow. Despite heavy promotion, the event returned disappointing ratings.

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