Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly is facing fierce backlash after blaming Jewish journalists Bari Weiss and Ben Shapiro for generating antisemitism while defending controversial podcaster Tucker Carlson.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Ms. Kelly accused Ms. Weiss and Mr. Shapiro of attempting to censor criticism of Israel — behavior she claimed has fueled antisemitism. She absolved Mr. Carlson, who has given his platform to avowed antisemites and holocaust revisionists, of any responsibility for rising hatred targeting Jews.

“They are making antisemites,” Ms. Kelly said of Ms. Weiss and Mr. Shapiro. “Tucker is not making antisemites. They are.”

Ms. Kelly escalated her attack by questioning Mr. Shapiro’s loyalty to America. “Ben is Israel first,” she said, accusing the Daily Wire founder of seeking to “divide the American conservative movement” over Israel. Mr. Shapiro was born and raised in America and does not hold Israeli citizenship.

The Vanity Fair interview appeared days after Mr. Shapiro denounced Ms. Kelly in a speech at Turning Point USA’s AmFest conference. Mr. Shapiro condemned Ms. Kelly and other members of the conservative coalition for tolerating conspiracy theorists like Mr. Carlson and former Daily Wire pundit Candace Owens, who openly parrots antisemitic conspiracy theories on her YouTube channel.

The Free Press, Ms. Weiss’s media company, published Mr. Shapiro’s address in full. 

Ms. Kelly’s comments ignited outrage within conservative circles, with some critics suggesting the interview marked her transformation from mainstream commentator to fringe conspiracy theorist. She was quickly dubbed the “groyper grandma” — a reference to the followers of a 27-year-old white nationalist podcaster and avowed antisemite, Nick Fuentes.

“Megyn Kelly is a disgusting fraud and hateful propagandist,” conservative talk show host, Mark Levin, wrote on X. He reckoned that “She need not condemn Candace Owens” because “she is Candace Owens.” 

A conservative columnist for the New York Times, David French, dismissed Ms. Kelly’s claims as “Wrong. Wrong. Wrong” in a social media post.  “The only person who ‘makes’ an antisemite is the antisemite. I’m so tired of the ‘you radicalized me’ line. No, you radicalize yourself. You become a bigot yourself. Do not blame others for your own hatred and bigotry.” 

American diplomat David Friedman, who served as the United States Ambassador to Israel under the first Trump administration, suggested Ms. Kelly was misplacing blame for stoking antisemitism. “Remind me again who falsely said Israel intentionally is killing babies and that Hamas is just a political movement?” Mr. Friedman wrote on X, calling up comments made by Mr. Carlson.

The Anti-Defamation League warned that Ms. Kelly had crossed “a dangerous line” by blaming Jewish people “for the hate directed against them.” The organization characterized her “Israel first” accusation as invoking “the age-old antisemitic dual loyalty trope that has fueled persecution and hatred against Jews for centuries.”

“ADL has documented time and again how this kind of rhetoric from public figures helps normalize antisemitism and may even endanger Jewish communities,” the statement continued. “It must stop now.”