Journalists Megyn Kelly and Soledad O’Brien got into a Twitter spat Monday morning over O’Brien’s criticism of Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean.
Dean, who has been a vocal critic of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over his coronavirus response and his since-reversed order that forced nursing homes to accept recovering COVID-19 patients, has been grieving the recent loss of both of her in-laws due to the coronavirus.
Dean responded on Twitter to a video of Dr. Anthony Fauci saying New York “did it correctly” in its fight against the coronavirus. “This is garbage,” she said, adding, “Sorry Dr. Fauci. 32,000 deaths. 6,000 seniors? Nope.”
This is garbage. https://t.co/nhvzfXFFul
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) July 18, 2020
O’Brien, who previously worked for CNN before hosting Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien on Hearst Television, dismissed Dean’s comments in a tweet that read: “Meteorologist weighs in.”
Meteorologist weighs in. https://t.co/pbMg5dYiTf
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) July 19, 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,” Kelly cut in.
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
“(Expert in Blackface weighs in),” O’Brien said in reference to Kelly, who faced controversy in 2018 for defending blackface Halloween costumes. “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.”
(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
O’Brien then tweeted of Kelly, “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.”
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, who later apologized for her blackface comments, shot back: “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,” Kelly responded.
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 revealed in May that both of her husband’s parents died due to the coronavirus and wrote an op-ed for Fox News titled “Coronavirus cost my in-laws their lives. Gov. Cuomo, our vulnerable loved ones deserved better.”
“Our most vulnerable loved ones could not protect themselves,” Dean wrote in the op-ed. “But Governor Cuomo is too busy trying to protect himself and rewrite history. He goes on CNN all the time to yuck it up with his brother while many of us wonder if any talk show host will ask questions about the nursing home tragedy.”
More than 22,000 deaths in New York City have been tied to the coronavirus, and there have been more than 225,000 confirmed cases. Overall, the state has endured more than 32,000 deaths tied to coronavirus and 411,000 confirmed cases.
