Flash! Fox鈥檚 Megyn Kelly now admits Jesus may not be 'white'
Fox News host Megyn Kelly caused a mini-media storm when she asserted that Santa Claus and Jesus were both white. She backed off a bit on Jesus, but accuses her critics of race-baiting.
Megyn Kelly, host of Fox News Channel's "The Kelly Files," raised a mini-media storm when she claimed that Santa Claus and Jesus were "white men."
Richard Drew/AP
For TV personalities, the most important thing is exposure, even 鈥� often especially 鈥� if it means controversy. Toss out some outrageous political or cultural tidbit and watch the fur fly as your audience numbers bounce up.
Sometimes the tidbit goes too far, even for cable TV. Martin Bashir got bounced from MSNBC recently for what he admitted had been his 鈥渟hameful鈥� comments about Sarah Palin. (鈥淎merica鈥檚 resident dunce,鈥� the British broadcaster had called her.)
But anybody who thinks that Fox News host Megyn Kelly was actually shocked 鈥� shocked! 鈥� that people would react to her comments this week about Santa Claus and Jesus doesn鈥檛 understand the way such things work.
The point was to keep her in the news, and her assertion that Santa and Jesus 鈥� one a historical figure, the other (don鈥檛 tell the kids) a made-up character 鈥� were both white, and听that "just because it makes you feel uncomfortable it doesn't mean it has to change鈥� certainly did just that.
Response ranged from outrage to ridicule to lengthy serious commentary on the history of both individuals.
African Americans noted that when they were kids, Santa in their neighborhood was often black.
鈥淭hat this genial, jolly man can only be seen as white 鈥� and consequently, that a Santa of any other hue is merely a 鈥榡oke鈥� or a chance to trudge out racist stereotypes helps perpetuate the whole 鈥榳hite-as-default鈥� notion endemic to American culture,鈥� Slate blogger Aisha Harris had written a few days earlier, which apparently set Kelly off as part of Fox鈥檚 annual 鈥渨ar on Christmas鈥� shtick.
Ms. Harris suggested that maybe Santa should be depicted as a North Pole penguin.
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Noting that the historical character St. Nicholas was born in what is now Turkey, Jon Stewart said, "My guess is that there'd be no Christmas if he looked like that dude, because he's probably still on the no-fly list.鈥�
As for Jesus, Stewart鈥檚 answer to Kelly was, 鈥�"You do know that Jesus wasn't born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, right?"
鈥淜elly has made a serious error about Jesus,鈥� Jonathan Merritt, senior columnist听for听Religion News Service听and author of听鈥淎 Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars,鈥� wrote in the Atlantic. 鈥淭he scholarly consensus is actually that Jesus was, like most first-century Jews, probably a dark-skinned man. If he were taking the red-eye flight from San Francisco to New York today, Jesus might be profiled for additional security screening by TSA.鈥�
OK, OK, you guys, Kelly responded on Friday. Can鈥檛 you recognize tongue-in-cheek when you see it?
"Humor is part of what we try to bring to the show. Sometimes that's lost on the humorless,鈥� she said.
"This would be funny if it were not so telling about our society,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淚n particular the knee jerk instinct by so many to race bait and to assume the worst in people, especially people employed by the very powerful Fox News channel.鈥�
She did concede that she had been wrong to assert that 鈥淛esus was a white man.鈥�
The question of Jesus' race is "far from settled,鈥� she acknowledged.