Podcaster Megyn Kelly used her show to attack the celebrities who have publicly demanded legal consequences for the seven Cornell University fraternity members accused of sexually assaulting a former student in 2024, accusing stars including Mariska Hargitay and Florence Pugh of judging the case without examining the facts.
The case centers on seven members of a Cornell fraternity accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a classmate in October 2024. No arrests were ever made, and only two of the accused were expelled. It drew renewed national attention in September after the survivor filed a civil lawsuit, and the Tompkins County District Attorney later reopened the criminal investigation, saying the case would be presented to a grand jury.
Hargitay, the "Law & Order: SVU" star and founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation, became one of the most prominent celebrity voices on the case, resharing posts calling for consequences for the accused men, including one reading: "Yes, I think we should ruin the futures of adult men who drug and gang r--- a woman." Florence Pugh was among the other stars who condemned the accused. Kelly argued that while the alleged behavior was shameful, legally inappropriate acts do not automatically constitute a violent crime — and that celebrities were reacting irresponsibly to an incomplete public record.
Kelly's segment went further than legal argument. She criticized Hargitay's credibility as a moral voice, pointing to the outfit worn by the actress's 15-year-old daughter, Amaya, at the 2026 Emmy Awards, which Hargitay hosted. "She just hosted the Emmys with her daughter, who's 15," Kelly said, questioning how Hargitay could "lecture" the public on the case. She also dismissed the idea that the case revealed a broader cultural problem of sexual assault on college campuses, calling it "absurd" to suggest an Ivy League university's instinct would be to go easy on the accused.
In later remarks reported by the New York Post, Kelly said she found the events of the October 2024 night clearly "traumatic" for the accuser but added: "I think it's extremely traumatic because I think she consented," arguing the woman was treated "like a piece of meat" by fraternity members — a framing that drew fierce backlash of its own.
The clash captures a volatile dynamic: celebrity-driven demands for accountability colliding with due-process arguments in a case where criminal authorities have yet to bring charges. The reopened investigation means the legal facts are still being established, even as the court of public opinion — from Hargitay's and Pugh's condemnations to Kelly's counterattack — renders its own verdicts in real time.