Megyn Kelly sparked a debate after making controversial remarks about the female leaders of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFP) as wildfires rage across the city.
The conservative media personality criticized the women’s appearance, calling them “obese” and saying she would prefer to be rescued by a “strong man.”
Kelly’s comments were targeted toward Kristin Crowley, a 22-year veteran and the department’s first woman and openly gay fire chief; Kristine Larson, the department’s equity and human resources bureau head; and Jamie Brown, the training and support bureau commander.
Megyn Kelly criticized the three female leaders in the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD)
Crowley, Larson, and Brown are the only women in leadership positions in the LAFD 14-person leadership team.
“I believe I speak for all females in Los Angeles when I say we want a strong man to rescue us,” the reporter said on her podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show, on Monday (January 13).
“These three women who are at the top there are all, I mean honestly, I’m not trying to be mean, but they’re obese,” Kelly continued. “These are overweight, out-of-shape women.”
“And the last thing I want to see if I am in a burning building is A) a woman and B) an obese woman. Who takes comfort [in that]? I’m going to die, but it’s in the presence of an obese lesbian. This is ridiculous.”
She added: “I speak for all women – I believe I speak for all females in Los Angeles – when I say: We want a strong man to rescue us. That’s what we want. Do we ask for too much?”
On social media, people debated Kelly’s remarks about how a firefighter’s weight impacts the efficiency of the job.
“What has happened to the physical requirements among both the police force and firefighters with their overweight people? It’s not a reassuring look,” one user wrote.
“Absolutely! Give me a fit strong man or an equally fit strong woman w/ a strong determination to save my life!” said somebody else.
“With respect Mrs Kelly, if I ever find myself being rescued from a burning building, I would not care what the person looked like. I would be grateful the person saved my life,” a separate user expressed.
“The only thing I care about if I am stuck in a burning building, is if the person who shows up can get me out,” another added.
Kelly also made transphobic remarks, referring to trans women as “fake women” and saying they should join the LAFD instead of women who were born biologically female.
“Let’s get the fake women who want to invade our sports and redirect them to the fire department. That would be a great place for you to break barriers as a quote ‘woman’ in the firefighting realm where you still have all of your male advantage.”
“They should all be fired,” she said after playing clips of Crowley and Larson talking about initiatives to increase diversity within the LAFD.
“Any time you spent, fire chief, worrying about this, making sure you had the staff for DEI and amassed the staff for that, while you’re short firefighters, you should be fired.”
Still, the budget cuts to the LAFP remain a concern for a significant portion of the population, including Crowley.
