Bari Weiss’s very public break with Megyn Kelly came after Kelly quietly rebuffed weeks of behind-the-scenes lobbying to appear in a CBS debate with “Call Her Daddy” podcaster Alex Cooper, according to a report.
Weiss courted Kelly to take part in a high-profile feminism debate as CBS News prepared to roll out a new town hall series under Weiss’s leadership, Vanity Fair reported.
Kelly declined, a rejection that preceded Weiss’s decision to promote Ben Shapiro’s onstage broadside against the former Fox News star at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest.
Weiss took to social media and amplified Shapiro’s speech — a blistering address that accused Kelly, Tucker Carlson and others of cowardice and moral failure for refusing to condemn Candace Owens.
Owens — the influential podcaster who made a name for herself as host of her own show at Shapiro’s outlet Daily Wire before she left the company under acrimonious circumstances — has baselessly suggested TPUSA officials may have been involved in the assassination of co-founder Charlie Kirk.
Kelly has since described Shapiro’s move as a “betrayal by a friend” accused Weiss of backing an effort to freeze dissent out of the conservative movement under the guise of moral policing over Israel.
“Bari, for all of her proselytizing about how bad cancel culture is, has not been canceled,” Kelly told Vanity Fair in a new interview.
“As she gets more powerful, she wants more and more censorship on her signature issue, which is Israel.”
Weiss’s push to recruit Kelly came as she was working to shake things up at CBS News after being installed as editor in chief following Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Weiss’s digital outlet, The Free Press.
The appointment immediately raised eyebrows inside the network, where staffers questioned Weiss’s lack of broadcast experience and her unusually hands-on role.
This past weekend, Weiss ordered producers of “60 Minutes” to shelve a report about alleged torture of Venezuelan migrants sent by the Trump administration to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador.
Sharyn Alfonsi, the “60 Minutes” correspondent who reported the piece, accused Weiss in internal correspondence of spiking the segment in order to curry favor with the Trump administration.
Weiss has denied the claim, insisting that the story lacked reporting.
Kelly in recent weeks has chafed at what she perceives as attempts by supporters of Israel to stifle debate on issues related to the country.
Kelly recently said Weiss’s actions confirmed her suspicions about the CBS big’s motives.
“It’s not about Erika Kirk. It’s not about Candace Owens,” Kelly said on her SiriusXM show last week.
“It’s about Israel — and about dictating how the rest of us are supposed to think and speak.”
Kelly has tied Weiss’s editorial decisions to what she describes as selective censorship.
“She’s only ever been given opportunity after opportunity,” Kelly told Vanity Fair.
And now she wants to decide what other people are allowed to say.”
The Post has sought comment from Kelly, Weiss and Cooper.
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