Fox News host Megyn Kelly doesn’t usually shy away from arguments. And Friday was no exception, as she proceeded to carefully and meticulously rip two of her Fox colleagues to shreds for their views on women and the workplace. The one who got it worst was Erick Erickson. He was the pundit who had said on Wednesday while on a Lou Dobbs Tonight panel that it was “anti-science” to refuse to believe that men are dominant. The ridiculous comment came as part of the mini-freakout many conservative commentators had over the Pew study that showed 40 percent of households with children under the age of 18 are now headed by women who are the sole or primary breadwinners for their family. Erickson later backed up his views in a blog post on Red State.
“What makes you dominant and me submissive and who died and made you scientist in chief?”* Kelly asked Erickson. He said that some “feminists” think “the male and female role are completely interchangeable.” Kelly said Erickson was trying to backpedal, and highlighted that studies have shown children who have same-sex parents and those who have working moms do no worse than children of heterosexual couples. Erickson dismissed the studies and insisted, “I’m not judging them and no one should.” Kelly called his views “offensive” and compared them to the people who once opposed interracial marriage.
But really the most awkward moment came when she turned to Lou Dobbs, who quickly got frustrated with Kelly for daring to interrupt him. “Excuse me,” Dobbs said. “Let me just finish what I was saying, if I may, oh dominant one.” Erickson laughed.
*Correction: This article originally misquoted Kelly’s question to Erickson.
