Debra Messing Mad At Megyn Kelly For ‘Gay Thing’ Comment

Jim Burrows and Debra Messing Image by Getty Images

By Daniel J. Solomon September 27, 2017

Jim Burrows and Debra Messing Image by Getty Images

Debra Messing, the once-and-again star of “Will and Grace,” says that she regrets appearing on NBC’s “Today” show after host Megyn Kelly made remarks viewed as insensitive to gay people.

“Honestly I didn’t know it was [Kelly] until that morning. The itinerary just said Today Show appearance. Regret going on. Dismayed by her comments,” Messing wrote online after Kelly referred to one guest’s sexual identity as a “gay thing.”

Kelly was talking to Messing, co-star Will McCormack and so-called “super-fans” of the show – which had its initial run end more than a decade ago – when she landed in trouble.

“Is it true that you became a lawyer — and you became gay — because of Will?” she asked one of the fan guests. “I think … the gay thing is going to work out great!”

Kelly, who achieved prominence at the Fox News Channel, is starting her new gig as a “Today” show host following her move to NBC.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO