Fox News host Megyn Kelly – who stayed home sick Thursday night – is set to address the media firestorm ignited by her declaration that both Santa Claus and Jesus were white.
Kelly made the comments during a panel discussion about a Slate article written by a black woman who described feeling ashamed as a child because "our black Santa wasn’t the real thing."
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"This is so ridiculous, yet another person claiming it’s racist to have a white Santa," Kelly told her panel Wednesday, adding, as she turned to the camera, "And by the way, for all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white, but this person is just arguing that maybe we should also have a black Santa."
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Media Bistro reports that Kelly will be back in the host chair of "The Kelly File" Friday and will talk about her comments. Her absence Thursday
led to speculation, however Kelly had complained of a cold earlier in the week.
Kelly’s assertions have made headlines around the world and landed her as the punchline in late-night comedians’ standup acts.
She characterized the Slate columnist as going “off the rails” for suggesting Santa be changed to a penguin in order to make all children feel included.
She questioned how "you revise it in the middle of the legacy of the story and change Santa from white to black."
"Just because it makes you uncomfortable doesn’t mean it has to change," Kelly explained.
The debate later moved to Jesus, who Kelly said "was a white man too."
"He was a historical figure," she stated. "That’s a verifiable fact."
Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" skewered Kelly's assertions, pointing out that forensic research has revealed that Santa, based on St. Nicholas who was born in what is now Turkey, had a darker skin tone than his commercial image.
"My guess is that there would be no Christmas if he looked like that dude because he’s probably still on the no-fly list," Stewart quipped.
Stewart also poked Kelly‘s declaration that Jesus was white, reminding that he wasn’t born in Bethlehem, Penn.
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