Overview
- On her podcast, Kelly said a person “very, very close to the case” told her Jeffrey Epstein “was not a pedophile,” asserting he “liked 15-year-old girls” and “wasn’t into, like, 8-year-olds,” which she also called “disgusting.”
- The clip went viral on X and across outlets, with critics rejecting her distinction; CNN’s Laura Coates and Karen Finney blasted the framing as ignorant and potentially creating a permission structure.
- Kelly did not address the fallout during her next show, according to coverage of Thursday’s broadcast.
- Coverage reasserted Epstein’s documented record, including a 2008 conviction and 2019 federal sex‑trafficking charges, alongside DOJ statements that he abused girls as young as 14.
- The remarks came as the House Oversight Committee released new Epstein emails touching his associates and high‑profile figures, and the House plans a vote next week on demanding full DOJ files.