Megyn Kelly Goes Off on Katie Zacharia’s Physical Appearance: Roger Ailes Would Say ‘You Need to Present as a Serious Person’
Megyn Kelly Goes Off on Katie Zacharia’s Physical Appearance: Roger Ailes Would Say ‘You Need to Present as a Serious Person’
Alex GriffingTue, October 13, 2026 at 10:35 PM UTC
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Megyn Kelly jabbed President Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, on Tuesday following Zacharia’s much-maligned 14-minute debut behind the podium. Kelly was critical of Zacharia for being nervous, but also offered some stern criticism of her look, telling her to “dial it down” until she establishes some credibility.
“You’re not there to turn anybody on. You’re there to look like a professional,” Kelly said of Zacharia’s look, which she noted included some cleavage.
“Okay. I mean, it was fine. Part of it is the look. You know, she’s got very heavy makeup on. She’s got the long curls. She’s got some chest showing with the tie. I think she needs to dial it back,” Kelly said, adding:
I’m just going to say, I know she’s auditioning for a job on Fox News. They all are. Look at Dana Perino. She was too. It’s been a long line of Republican press secretaries whose real goal is to wind up on Fox News. I get it. But Roger Ailes will be the first to tell you, when you are in a job in which you need to be taken seriously, you need to present as a serious person.
Kelly name-checking Ailes is certain to raise some eyebrows, as she accused the late media titan of sexual harassment in 2016.
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“And then I would say once she’s earned the respect of the public and the press corps, she can sex it up if she wants. She’ll have a greater ability to do that and to be taken seriously. But right now, we don’t know you, and your first impressions are important,” Kelly continued, adding:
You should be the consummate professional in your presentation, which means dialing back the makeup, dialing back the over-the-top curls and the hair, and maybe covering up a little bit more underneath that suit jacket. You’re not there to turn anybody on. You’re there to look like a professional.
And by the way, it’s advice I’ve given to other officials, cabinet officials and others in the Trump administration, and I think some of them took my advice and were very well served by it. Obviously, I have no problem with glam makeup or hair. Not today, I don’t really have any. But in general, I have no problem with it. But I do think you have to earn it, and she hasn’t yet. So dial it back. 20% less makeup, the sparkly eyeshadow, just dial it back, and you’ll get there with the American people if you are smart and credible.
Okay, so a little stumbly because she was nervous, which you could hear, and so was she.
Watch above via YouTube.
Jason Cohen contributed to this report.
The post Megyn Kelly Goes Off on Katie Zacharia’s Physical Appearance: Roger Ailes Would Say ‘You Need to Present as a Serious Person’ first appeared on Mediaite.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
