Megyn Kelly's Settle for More: 10 stunning moments
Megyn Kelly’s memoir Settle for More debuts Tuesday after a much anticipated windup and speculation over what exactly the Fox News anchor would reveal about the cable news channel, its ex-chairman Roger Ailes, and the new president-elect Donald Trump.
Fear not, readers, for Kelly delivers with stories about Ailes’ “inappropriate sexually charged comments,” how Trump offered her “gifts clearly meant to shape coverage” of the presidential campaign, and the death threats she received from Trump’s ardent supporters.
Below, see the 10 most shocking moments from Settle For More.
Roger Ailes made “inappropriate sexually charged comments” to her
“There was a pattern to his behavior. I would be called into Roger’s office, he would shut the door, and over the next hour or two, he would engage in a kind of cat-and-mouse game with me—veering between obviously inappropriate sexually charged comments (e.g., about the ‘very sexy bras’ I must have and how he’d like to see me in them) and legitimate professional advice.”
He then “crossed a new line”
“…in January 2006, Roger called me up to New York and we had a shocking exchange….He crossed a new line—trying to grab me repeatedly and kiss me on the lips….His office was large and it took me a beat to get to the door, which was closed. As I walked away from him, he followed me and asked an ominous question, ‘When is your contract up?'”
And made “offers of professional advancement in exchange for sexual favors”
“I kept a record of Roger’s behavior, and have since shared the facts with those who investigated the case against him. I see no point in making all of the details public, but suffice it to say he made sexual comments to me, offers of professional advancement in exchange for sexual favors, and, eventually, physical attempts to be with me—every single one of which I rejected.”
Kelly’s call to Lachlan Murdoch, executive co-chairman of News Corporation and 21st Century Fox
“I picked up the phone to call Lachlan Murdoch. ‘You need to get your general counsel on the phone,’ I told him, ‘I have something to tell you.'”
Trump offered her “gifts clearly meant to shape coverage”
Six months before Donald Trump announced his presidential candidacy, he began reach out to Kelly, sending her notes, inviting her to his Florida resort Mar-A-Lago, and so on. “This is actually one of the untold stories of the 2016 campaign: I was not the only journalist to whom Trump offered gifts clearly meant to shape coverage.”
Trump threatened Kelly after she aired a segment on his and Ivana’s divorce
After Kelly ran a segment on her show about Donald and Ivana Trump’s divorce proceedings, Trump called her, enraged. “You had no business putting it on your show! Oh, I almost unleashed my beautiful Twitter account against you, and I still may.”
Kelly began receiving death threats from Trump supporters
After Trump did, indeed, unleash his Twitter followers on Kelly, “[Fox news president] Bill Shine called [Trump attorney Michael] Cohen directly and tried to make him understand this kind of irresponsible messaging had already led to death threats. Cohen—a frequent guest on Fox News—was not particularly moved. Shine, exasperated by Cohen’s indifference, tried to explain it in terms Cohen might understand: ‘If Megyn Kelly is killed it’s not going to help your candidate.'”
Trump “heard” about Kelly’s first question at the Fox News debate
The day before the Republican primary’s Fox News debate, Kelly realized someone from the network had tipped off Trump about questions. “Trump…said that he had ‘heard’ that my first question was a very pointed question directed at him. ‘How could he know that?’ I wondered.”
Katie Couric had her back
After Donald Trump’s “blood-coming-out-of her” remark, Katie Couric sent Kelly a few lines of support. “Are you okay? Do you need some Tampax?”
Kelly’s extra security
So many Trump supporters threatened Kelly and her family that they had to take security with them on a Disney vacation. “Yes, we took an armed guard to the Magic Kingdom. More guns, more guards.”
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