‘The View’s Abby Huntsman Says Megyn Kelly Should Have Been More “Self-Deprecating” at NBC

Abby Huntsman and Megyn Kelly may not work together at Fox News anymore, but that’s not stopping The View host from giving her former co-worker some advice. In an interview with Bold TV, Huntsman said that Kelly, now on the outs with NBC after a ballooning blackface controversy, should have made herself more “vulnerable” during her brief tenure on Megyn Kelly Today. According to Huntsman, Kelly’s biggest mistake was not being “self-deprecating,” a strategy that Huntsman believes brings viewers into your corner and makes them more likely to forgive your mistakes (and boy, did Kelly make a lot of mistakes while at NBC).

When asked about her own career mistakes, Huntsman brought up Kelly as an example of what she’s tried not to do as a TV personality. “With all Megyn Kelly’s going through,” said Huntsman, “I think what has hurt her is she did not allow herself to be as vulnerable as she should have, and to be self-deprecating. And so when you do make those mistakes, people are more likely to say, ‘Okay, let’s forgive you this time. We know you’re a good person.'” Huntsman insisted that she knows Kelly is a good person, regardless of her many scandals, but she said that because Kelly has “had a harder time showing people her real side,” her misses become amplified by the lack of support from fans.

Kelly wasn’t the only Fox News personality Huntsman name-dropped during the interview. The View co-host also mentioned disgraced exec Roger Ailes, who left the network after multiple employees came forward with sexual misconduct claims against him. Huntsman said that when she first got to Fox News, Ailes taught her how to relate to audiences.

“I got advice from Roger Ailes, of all people, who had a bad falling out and all that. But he was a genius at what he did in terms of talent and television,” said Huntsman (no one pushed her on this comment, which they probably should have). “He said, ‘People are going to see you on the  camera, and they’re going to see that you’re an attractive woman, or that you know, your hair is perfect.'” Again, there was no pushback on Ailes’ “lesson” beginning with a comment on her appearance. “And he said, ‘Show them that you’re like them, show them that you make mistakes. If you screw up a word in a prompter, that’s ok. Because that will help them relate to you.’ And I think that’s a really good life lesson,” said Huntsman.

Watch Huntsman’s entire interview with Bold TV above.