Megyn Kelly: “He wasn’t into, like, 8-year-olds. … There’s a difference between a 15-year-old and a 5-year-old.”

Megyn Kelly, who once endorsed Trump by calling him a “protector of women,” is now facing backlash for comments that appeared to downplay the sexual abuse committed by convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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In an interview with conservative journalist Batya Ungar-Sargon on her podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show, Kelly discussed the Epstein emails released by the House Oversight Committee this week before veering into a discussion on whether Epstein could be called “a pedophile” based on the ages of the girls he abused.

The Megyn Kelly Show / SiriusXM / Media Matters / Via mediamatters.org

First, she cited someone she described as “very, very close to this case” and “in a position to know virtually everything,” who told her that, in their view, “Jeffrey Epstein was not a pedophile.”

The Megyn Kelly Show / SiriusXM / Media Matters / Via Twitter: @AccountableGOP

“This is this person’s view, who was there for a lot of this, but that he was into the barely legal type. Like, he liked 15-year-old girls,” she said.

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She added that she realized “this is disgusting” and said she is “definitely not trying to make an excuse for this,” but elaborated on the age discrepancy: “I’m just giving you facts, that he wasn’t into, like, 8-year-olds. But he liked the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were, but would look legal to a passerby,” she said.

The Megyn Kelly Show / Sirius XM / Via Twitter: @AccountableGOP

Kelly said that she believed this about Epstein “for many years,” but that “it wasn’t until we heard from Pam Bondi that they had tens of thousands of videos of alleged — forgive me, they used to call it ‘kiddie porn,’ now they call it child sexual abuse material — on his computer that for the first time, I thought, Oh, no, he was an actual pedophile.”

The Megyn Kelly Show / Sirius XM / Via Twitter: @AccountableGOP

“I mean, only a pedophile gets off on young children abuse videos. She’s never clarified it, I don’t know whether it’s true,” she said. “I have to be honest, I don’t really trust Pam Bondi’s word on the Epstein matters anymore.”

Kelly said that she doesn’t “know what’s true about” Epstein, but that “we have yet to see anybody come forward and say, ‘I was under 10. I was under 14 when I first came within his purview.’”

The Megyn Kelly Show / Sirius XM / Via Twitter: @AccountableGOP

She then explained that she believes there’s “a difference” between a “15-year-old and a 5-year-old” victim. “You can say that’s a distinction without a difference. I think there is a difference. There’s a difference between a 15-year-old and a 5-year-old, you know?” she said.

The Megyn Kelly Show / Sirius XM / Via Twitter: @AccountableGOP

“Whatever. It’s sick. Every time we start talking about Epstein, it makes your skin crawl. You’re right. The whole thing is just disgusting,” she ended.

The Megyn Kelly Show / Sirius XM / Via Twitter: @AccountableGOP

The clip quickly went viral across X, with many users shocked by her comments.

“What — and I genuinely cannot stress this enough — THE FUCK are we doing here?” one person asked.

The Megyn Kelly Show / Sirius XM / Via Twitter: @PeteBlackburn

Many people criticized the distinction she drew.

“Hey Megyn, 15 is NOT ‘the barely legal’ type… Thanks for your attention to this matter,” one person replied.

@MilenaAmit / Via Twitter: @MilenaAmit

“Her use of the word ‘actual’ is extremely disturbing. Is she trying to rate different levels of violating children here? Excuse me, but a child is a child & it will never be okay to violate any child no matter their age of childhood,” another person wrote.

@EMAGTaylor / Via Twitter: @EMAGTaylor

“This is career-ending for Megyn Kelly,” another said. “15 year olds are CHILDREN. They can’t drive. They can’t see rated R movies. But disgusting 50 year old men should be allowed to rape them? Goodbye. Forever.”

The Megyn Kelly Show / Sirius XM / Via Twitter: @Ally_Sammarco

“I want Megyn Kelly to say this to a 15-year-old victim’s face. I want her to look that child in the eye and say it’s less bad,” another requested.

The Megyn Kelly Show / Sirius XM / Via Twitter: @MikeDrucker

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Some couldn’t help but compare the conversations happening right now.

“The left is having conversations about expanding food and healthcare coverage amid a recession, and the right is talking about how low they can draw the line for pedophilia. Tell me it’s hard to see which side is fucking evil.”

@antiscarcity / Via Twitter: @antiscarcity

And lastly, “Predictable but still amazing to watch people who spent literally years accusing every librarian, teacher, and trans person they could find of sexually grooming children suddenly throw themselves in with ‘actually it’s ephebophilia.’”