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| Megyn Kelly Calls Alex Jones’s Sandy Hook Denial ‘Revolting,’ but Still Plans to Air Interview | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A gun violence prevention organization named for the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre has dropped Megyn Kelly of NBC as the host of its annual gala amid protests of Ms. Kelly’s upcoming interview with Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist who says the shooting was a hoax. | |
| Ms. Kelly said on Tuesday that she was disappointed at the decision by the organization, Sandy Hook Promise, to drop her as the host of its Promise Champions Gala, which is scheduled for Wednesday. But she defended her interview with Mr. Jones, which has been the subject of criticism since she announced it over the weekend on Twitter. | |
| “I find Alex Jones’s suggestion that Sandy Hook was ‘a hoax’ as personally revolting as every other rational person does,” Ms. Kelly said in a statement. “It left me, and many other Americans, asking the very question that prompted this interview: How does Jones, who traffics in these outrageous conspiracy theories, have the respect of the president of the United States and a growing audience of millions?” | |
| The statement from Ms. Kelly came after some of the families of the 26 people who were killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting criticized her interview with Mr. Jones, the host of “The Alex Jones Show” and the operator of the right-wing website Infowars, who has said the shooting was a hoax perpetrated by forces hostile to the Second Amendment. | |
| Mr. Jones has a wide following. He has called the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City an inside job, promoted and then later apologized for helping spread the hoax known as “Pizzagate,” and asserted that an Idaho yogurt factory owned by a Kurdish immigrant was associated with a sexual assault before retracting that claim amid a lawsuit. | |
| A furor erupted on Sunday against NBC and Ms. Kelly, who left Fox News earlier this year to anchor a new weekly show, “Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly,” after she announced on Twitter that she would air an interview with Mr. Jones on June 18 “to discuss controversies and conspiracies,” giving him a new platform. | |
| The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that JPMorgan Chase pulled its local television and digital ads from all NBC News programming until after the interview airs. A spokesman for JPMorgan Chase declined to comment on Tuesday. | |
| Kristin Lemkau, the company’s chief marketing officer, said in a tweet on Monday that she was “repulsed” that Ms. Kelly would “give a second of airtime to someone who says Sandy Hook and Aurora are hoaxes.” | Kristin Lemkau, the company’s chief marketing officer, said in a tweet on Monday that she was “repulsed” that Ms. Kelly would “give a second of airtime to someone who says Sandy Hook and Aurora are hoaxes.” |
| In a segment on Infowars on Monday, even Mr. Jones called on NBC to not broadcast the interview. | |
| “They did not have me in there saying that I believed children died at Sandy Hook,” Mr. Jones said about a preview clip that was shared on Twitter. He claimed that he was misled by Ms. Kelly and that the clip was edited to misrepresent him. | |
| Some of the families of Sandy Hook victims have endured harassment and threats by conspiracy theorists for years. Nelba Márquez-Greene, whose daughter Ana Grace Márquez-Greene, was killed, tweeted several photos of her daughter at Ms. Kelly. | |
| “Shame on you,” wrote Cristina Hassinger, the daughter of Dawn Hochsprung, who was the school’s principal. | “Shame on you,” wrote Cristina Hassinger, the daughter of Dawn Hochsprung, who was the school’s principal. |
| Sandy Hook Promise, said in a statement that the decision to cancel Ms. Kelly’s job as gala host stemmed from NBC’s planned broadcast of her interview with Mr. Jones. | |
| “Sandy Hook Promise cannot support the decision by Megyn or NBC to give any form of voice or platform to Alex Jones and have asked Megyn Kelly to step down as our Promise Champion Gala host,” Nicole Hockley, a founder and managing director of the group, said in the statement. “It is our hope that Megyn and NBC reconsider and not broadcast this interview.” | |
| Ms. Kelly’s said in her statement on Tuesday that she was disappointed that she would not be there in support, but she said: “Our goal in sitting down with him was to shine a light — as journalists are supposed to do — on this influential figure, and yes — to discuss the considerable falsehoods he has promoted with near impunity.” | |
| As a guest on Mr. Jones’s show in 2015, Mr. Trump, then a Republican presidential candidate, told Mr. Jones: “Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down. You will be very, very impressed, I hope. And I think we’ll be speaking a lot.” | |
| In her statement on Tuesday, Ms. Kelly cited the president as a reason that Mr. Jones was a worthy candidate for an interview. | |
| “President Trump, by praising and citing him, appearing on his show, and giving him White House press credentials, has helped elevate Jones, to the alarm of many,” she said. | |
| Ms. Kelly also posted a preview of the interview on her Twitter account. In it, she asked Mr. Jones: “They call you the most paranoid man in America. Is that true?” Ms. Kelly said. | |
| “Absolutely not,” said Mr. Jones. “A paranoid person would be hiding out in their house, not venturing out in public. I go out there on the street and battle Black Lives Matter, the Communists, point-blank range.” | “Absolutely not,” said Mr. Jones. “A paranoid person would be hiding out in their house, not venturing out in public. I go out there on the street and battle Black Lives Matter, the Communists, point-blank range.” |
| She then gives cues to Mr. Jones, prompting him to repeat some of the most prominent conspiracy theories he has touted. | She then gives cues to Mr. Jones, prompting him to repeat some of the most prominent conspiracy theories he has touted. |
| “9/11,” Ms. Kelly says. | “9/11,” Ms. Kelly says. |
| “Now 9/11 was an inside job, but when I say inside job it means criminal elements in our government working with Saudi Arabia and others, wanting to frame Iraq for it,” Mr. Jones replies. | “Now 9/11 was an inside job, but when I say inside job it means criminal elements in our government working with Saudi Arabia and others, wanting to frame Iraq for it,” Mr. Jones replies. |
| “Sandy Hook,” she says. | “Sandy Hook,” she says. |
| “Well Sandy Hook’s complex because I have had debates where, we devil’s advocates have said the whole story is true, and then I have had debates where I have said, that none of it is true.” | “Well Sandy Hook’s complex because I have had debates where, we devil’s advocates have said the whole story is true, and then I have had debates where I have said, that none of it is true.” |
| Ms. Kelly then asked him: “When you say parents faked their children’s death, people get very angry.” | Ms. Kelly then asked him: “When you say parents faked their children’s death, people get very angry.” |
| “Well I know, but they don’t get angry about the half million dead Iraqis from the sanctions, or they don’t get angry about … ” Mr. Jones said, before he is interrupted by Ms. Kelly, who says, “That’s a dodge.” | “Well I know, but they don’t get angry about the half million dead Iraqis from the sanctions, or they don’t get angry about … ” Mr. Jones said, before he is interrupted by Ms. Kelly, who says, “That’s a dodge.” |
| “No it’s not a dodge,” he continued. He said he “looked at all the angles of Newtown, and I made my statements long before the media even picked up on it. We didn’t get any of the real important stuff.” | “No it’s not a dodge,” he continued. He said he “looked at all the angles of Newtown, and I made my statements long before the media even picked up on it. We didn’t get any of the real important stuff.” |
| “Well here’s the big one they always make fun of me. You probably want to throw this in there. Thirty years ago, they began creating animal-human hybrids. Isn’t that the big story Megyn Kelly should be doing?” Mr. Jones said. | “Well here’s the big one they always make fun of me. You probably want to throw this in there. Thirty years ago, they began creating animal-human hybrids. Isn’t that the big story Megyn Kelly should be doing?” Mr. Jones said. |
| Six educators and 20 first-grade students were shot dead by Adam Lanza on Dec. 14, 2012, at the Newtown, Conn., elementary school. Mr. Lanza, 20, who had also killed his mother earlier that morning, then turned the gun on himself. | Six educators and 20 first-grade students were shot dead by Adam Lanza on Dec. 14, 2012, at the Newtown, Conn., elementary school. Mr. Lanza, 20, who had also killed his mother earlier that morning, then turned the gun on himself. |
| Parents of the Newtown victims have been harassed and threatened by conspiracy theorists, who accuse them of fabricating the massacre. This month, a Florida woman was sentenced to prison for issuing death threats to one Newtown family. | Parents of the Newtown victims have been harassed and threatened by conspiracy theorists, who accuse them of fabricating the massacre. This month, a Florida woman was sentenced to prison for issuing death threats to one Newtown family. |
| Ms. Hassinger, who said in a telephone interview that she would not watch the program, said her family has been bombarded with requests for evidence that her mother was killed. | Ms. Hassinger, who said in a telephone interview that she would not watch the program, said her family has been bombarded with requests for evidence that her mother was killed. |
| “We have been harassed repeatedly by people who we call hoaxers that think this hasn’t happened. When there is going to be such a widely available interview with attention given to one of the hoaxer ringleaders, it is going to unleash the trolls on us tenfold all over again.” | “We have been harassed repeatedly by people who we call hoaxers that think this hasn’t happened. When there is going to be such a widely available interview with attention given to one of the hoaxer ringleaders, it is going to unleash the trolls on us tenfold all over again.” |
| On Facebook, a page dedicated to the memory of a slain teacher, Victoria Soto, 27, addressed a post to Ms. Kelly and the network: “Alex and his followers have done nothing but make our lives a living hell for the last 4½ years,” it said. “This incessant need for ratings at the cost of the emotional well-being of our family is disgusting and disappointing.” |