Megyn Kelly told Olivia Rodrigo to “shut up and stick to singing” after the pop star voiced support for the Cornell student suing the university and seven former fraternity members over an alleged gang rape.
Kelly, 55, unloaded on Rodrigo, 23, during Monday’s episode of her YouTube show after reading the “drivers license” singer’s Instagram Story post from Sunday. Rodrigo had written that she stood with Jane Doe, the unnamed accuser at the center of the “Cornell 7” case, and condemned institutions that shield abusers.
“Shame on Cornell and on every institution who protects rapists and abusers over women,” Rodrigo wrote on Instagram Story.
“I stand with Jane Doe. Her bravery reverberates across the country and the crimes against her will not go unpunished.”
Rodrigo continued in a second post: “What she lived through matters, and so does the failure of those who could have intervened but chose not to. She deserves answers, consequences, and lasting change.”
Kelly fired back on her YouTube program by dismissing Rodrigo’s statement as uninformed meddling. “I liked you better when you were in front of a microphone singing your weird little depressing songs,” she said. “Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The former Fox News host then escalated her attack with a proverb and a threat. “It’s better to keep your mouth shut and let people suspect you’re an idiot than to open it and prove them right. Ever hear that saying? It applies to you, sweetheart.”
Kelly called Rodrigo a “know-nothing moron” who suddenly thinks she has something “profound” to say, then warned she might scrutinize the singer’s lyrics. “Sit down and be quiet. Or I’m going to have to start pulling your music and your lyrics and take a deep dive into exactly the kind of messaging that you are pushing on young women. I guarantee it’s not going to end well for you, Olivia. Be quiet. The adults are talking,” she added.
Rodrigo is not the only celebrity to back Jane Doe. Florence Pugh, Lzzy Hale, Mariska Hargitay, Hudson Williams and Josh Gad have also publicly expressed support for the accuser, according to the coverage.
Jane Doe sued Cornell and seven former Chi Phi fraternity members last month, alleging she was drugged and gang-raped at a fraternity house in October 2024. She claims the men gave her alcohol and drugs including ketamine before sexually assaulting her for hours while she was unable to consent. Messages from a Snapchat group chat submitted as evidence allegedly show the defendants inviting other fraternity members to join them at the location of the alleged assault.
Cornell’s internal investigation found two brothers responsible for sexual assault and expelled them in May 2025. Matthew Ingalls, whom the accuser said sparked the alleged gang rape, had claimed to campus officials in a February 2025 email that the accuser “sodomized” him. The other five men named in Doe’s lawsuit were suspended or received lesser disciplinary penalties. None of the accused have been criminally charged and all have denied wrongdoing.
The university defended its initial handling last week while agreeing to an independent review. “Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” Kyle Kimball, Cornell’s vice president of university relations, said in a Sept. 28 statement.
Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff announced Saturday that the university would participate in an independent investigation into how it handled Jane Doe’s report. “What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing and will weigh heavily on our community for years to come,” he said. “It raises heartbreaking and troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanization and aspects of party culture, alcohol and drug use. We as an administration and community must do better.”
Kelly’s broadside at Rodrigo also included commentary on Jane Doe’s appearance, with Kelly suggesting the accuser may have “enjoyed” the encounter because she is not “attractive,” according to additional coverage of the same broadcast.