Megyn Kelly, Soledad O’Brien Spar Over Janice Dean Insult: ‘You Attacked a Woman Grieving Her Dead Relatives’
Megyn Kelly and Soledad O’Brien sparred on Twitter Monday after the former CNN host took a shot at Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean over New York’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dean has been a vocal critic of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s pandemic response, particularly his executive order that put coronavirus patients in nursing homes. Dean’s husband lost both of his parents to the disease at assisted living facilities, and she has condemned Cuomo repeatedly for his “arrogance and indifference” to the consequences of his policy.
On Saturday, Dean responded to an interview in which White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke positively about how New York tackled the pandemic. Her response:
Sorry Dr. Fauci. 32,000 deaths. 6,000 seniors? Nope.
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) July 18, 2020
Fauci’s comments came from an interview with PBS’ Judy Woodruff, in which he spoke positively about how New York slowed the spread of the virus after being “hit worse than any place in the world.”
“We have a problem. We need to admit it and own it. But we have got to do the things that are very clear that we need to do to turn this around, remembering we can do it,” Fauci said. “We know that, when you do it properly, you bring down those cases. We have done it. We have done it in New York. New York got hit worse than any place in the world. And they did it correctly by doing the things that you’re talking about.”
Dean’s tweet got the attention of O’Brien, who offered the dismissive response: “Meteorologist weighs in.”
Meteorologist weighs in. https://t.co/pbMg5dYiTf
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) July 19, 2020
O’Brien drew a lot of criticism for that tweet, with many pointing out how the virus has impacted Dean’s family.
She’s actually a heartbroken wife and mother who lost BOTH of her husband’s parents within days to COVID, because of @NYGovCuomo’s nursing home policy. I think she’s more than qualified. And she’s a kickass meteorologist. https://t.co/JqhMlr1o0m
— Kennedy (@KennedyNation) July 20, 2020
That “meteorologist’s” name is @JaniceDean. She’s a working mom w/MS who is married to a hero 9/11 fireman. She lost both in-laws in NY nursing homes thx to Cuomo’s disastrous orders & so yeah, she gets an opinion.
She also epitomizes class & kindness. Remember those? https://t.co/uBUztxWIj0— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) July 20, 2020
O’Brien responded to Kelly, mocking her NBC ouster before defending the broader context of Fauci’s statements.
(Expert in Blackface weighs in).
Dr. Fauci said “you can bring down those cases”. Which NY’ers did. What he said was not “garbage”, but factually and scientifically correct. She’s welcome to weigh in on anything she wants to. As are you. As am I. https://t.co/FQZSdINomX
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) July 20, 2020
This thread. (And also Fauci is accurate in his quote. NY did bring its numbers down. And NY’ers paid a high price for it. In jobs, businesses closed. And lost many, many people. But it’s not garbage. It’s correct.) https://t.co/rNfG6kJHMe
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) July 20, 2020
What did I do to deserve the Blackface lady tweeting at me while I’m still in bed? This doesn’t bode well for my day, tbh.
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) July 20, 2020
Kelly didn’t let that jab go unanswered.
Oh let me help you! You attacked a woman grieving her dead relatives for challenging the narrative that NY handled corona just great, dismissing her as too small to have an opinion bc she’s just a meteorologist. https://t.co/M1eaWbTfiZ
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) July 20, 2020
Dean has yet to directly respond to O’Brien, but she offered another statement on Twitter Sunday. She also retweeted a post from Ben Domenech of The Federalist.
I used a weather analogy for those who say I should “stick to weather”
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) July 19, 2020
The media informs me repeatedly that Dr. Anthony Fauci has never been wrong about anything and is above criticism. He just hailed New York for their response to coronavirus. Are we allowed to call out a degree of bullshit that monumental?
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) July 18, 2020
