Megyn Kelly Hits Back at ‘Coward’ Ben Shapiro, Says Bari Weiss Is ‘Afraid’ of Her

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Conservative pundit Megyn Kelly sparred with CBS News editor-in-chief Barri Weiss on Friday, calling her and Ben Shapiro “cowards” and accusing them of attacking her in public “without so much as a phone call.”

Shapiro used his speech at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference on Thursday to lash out at prominent conservatives, including fellow conference speaker Tucker Carlson, over their promotion of conspiracy theorist Candace Owens and her comments about the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

“The fact that they have said nothing while Candace has been vomiting all sorts of hideous and conspiratorial nonsense into the public square for years is just as cowardly,” Shapiro said. “Friendship with public figures who say or do evil things is not an excuse for silence on the matter. So no, Tucker Carlson is not an excuse to go silent on Candace’s targeting of TPUSA.”

Shapiro then turned his attention to Kelly, adding, “The same holds true of Megyn Kelly, a person I consider a friend, characterizing Candace as a young mother and thus shying away from condemning her actions.”

Kelly initially responded to the speech in a post, writing, “@benshapiro & @bariweiss in a joint attack on yours truly (their ‘friend’) tonight w/o a damn clue what has been going on behind the scenes for months. Prob should have checked w/ @TPUSA & @MrsErikaKirk first. I’m embarrassed for them.”

She upped the ante hours later, using the language from the headline of Weiss’ coverage of the speech– “Only Cowards Tolerate Conspiracy Theorists”– in her own attack and accusing Weiss of being scared of her.

“Only cowards take to the national stage or X to attack their ‘friends’ without so much as a phone call to discuss it,” she wrote. “And also didn’t tag me bc she is afraid.”

Kelly’s post marks a further escalation in the ongoing MAGA feud between Owens and Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk, who has accused the podcaster of attacking TPUSA and her family with baseless accusations.

Shapiro’s speech at Turning Point’s AmericaFest was not the only one that brought these issues front and center. Carlson responded to Shapiro’s attack in his own speech later on Thursday evening.

“Charlie [Kirk] stood firm in his often-stated and deeply-held belief that people should be able to debate,” he said. “I kind of thought we’d reached the end of that [cancel culture], and as far as I’m concerned, we have, and I’m not gonna play by those rules. I’m not gonna engage in that.”

Weiss, for her part, has come out strongly on the side of Erika Kirk, going so far as to host a town hall with her on Saturday– an event which notably drew lackluster viewership.

Owens and Kirk met in person on Monday to discuss the feud, a sit-down that Kelly had previously claimed to have a hand in. Despite the meeting, the conflict seems set to continue, as will AmericaFest, where Erika Kirk is scheduled to speak on Sunday.