Megyn Kelly slammed the Navy’s use of an active-duty drag queen enlistee to be the military branch’s “digital ambassador” in an effort to attract recruits, saying that those that approved the decision have “lost their minds.”
“This is not somebody anybody wants in a foxhole with him,” Kelly said on her SiriusXM podcast “The Megyn Kelly Show” during Thursday’s broadcast.
Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley — a self-identified non-binary, who is known by the stage name Harpy Daniels — had taken to social media to reveal performing in drag shows.
“I’m sorry, but who is this inspiring to join the Navy?” Kelly said during her podcast on Thursday.
“I would much rather have a badass, actual woman defending the country or a regular man.”
Kelly said that being non-binary is “not a thing.”
“You are one or the other,” the former Fox News and NBC star said.
“You are not both male and female. Sorry to break it to you, Kelley.”
Kelly lamented that the military has become “obsessed with identity now” — unlike in years past when it was “historically beaten out of these guys and gals as soon as they showed up.”
“You’re not black, not white, not Hispanic,” Kelly said.
“You’re not non-binary. You’re a Marine. You’re a SEAL. You’re an Army Ranger.”
“That’s what the messaging used to be.”
Kelly added: “Please tell me he’s not defending us against [Russian President] Vladimir Putin [or Chinese President] Xi Jinping.”
“Please tell me that guy will be nowhere near the battle.”
Kelley hit back at critics on Wednesday, posting a video to TikTok and Instagram.
“You only want to support the military when it benefits you and doesn’t involve queer people,” Kelly wrote in the caption.
“Yet the military is the largest diverse, and adaptable organization in the use.”
“Well as a service member, a queen, and an open queer person. You don’t scare me and you won’t stop the LGBTQ+ community for thriving!”
Robert J. O’Neill, the decorated Navy SEAL veteran who was part of the team that killed Osama bin Laden, spoke out against the Navy’s new recruitment campaign featuring Kelley.
“Alright. The US Navy is now using an enlisted sailor Drag Queen as a recruiter. I’m done. China is going to destroy us. YOU GOT THIS NAVY. I can’t believe I fought for this bulls-t,” O’Neill wrote to his 590,500 followers.
The latest controversy involving the Navy is similar to the fierce debate stirred by Bud Light’s use of transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote its beer brand.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
