Former Fox News personality Megyn Kelly continues to draw backlash after deciding to be a sexual predator apologist on her self-titled SiriusXM show.
After falsely calling girls 14 and older "barely legal," Kelly added:
"...we have yet to see anybody come forward and say I was under 10, I was under 14 when I first came within his purview."
"You can say that's a distinction without a difference. I think there is a difference. There's a difference between a 15-year-old and a 5-year-old, you know?"
One person speaking out is a 14-year-old TikToker named Eloise who posts under the account @cheeringforchange. They posted a response for Kelly that quickly went viral.
The video, which has garnered over 11 million views on TikTok alone and shared almost 95k times, was captioned:
"Here’s a reminder from an actual 14 year old about what a child even IS."
"If adults are out here debating the 'acceptable age' of abuse, then kids aren’t the ones who need to grow up."
Links to sources for the information were also included.
The TikTok video begins with:
"Hey, Megyn, I’m Eloise, and I’m 14 years old. I wasn't even gonna say anything because the topic is an adult one. My mom even made a video about it yesterday because we didn't feel [it was] an appropriate topic for a child to speak about."
"But after hearing you go on camera and explain that Epstein wasn't into 8-year-olds, just the 'barely legal' type, like 15, I realized you might need an actual reality check from a literal child."
You can watch Eloise's post here with subtitles.
Eloise continued:
"So let me help you out. Megyn, people in my grade are turning 15 right now. Some of us still have baby faces. Some of us still have braces. Some of us still call our parents when we're scared at night. Some of us still look like middle schoolers, because we basically are."
"And the fact that a grown woman needs a teenager to explain that is honestly terrifying. Here's the part you seem confused about."
"Under [United States] federal law, anyone under 18 is a child. No asterisk. No 'but they hit puberty.' No 'older kids don't count.' Anyone under 18 is a child."
Eloise added:
"You said you were just giving facts, but here's the real fact. What you said wasn't factual, it was minimizing. It was making abuse sound like a technicality.
"And Megyn, here's the part you really need to hear. If a 14-year-old has to get on the internet and explain to a grown adult with a national platform that children are children and there’s no age where abuse suddenly becomes less bad, then the problem isn't confusion, it's corruption."
The teen stated:
"Because kids my age aren't supposed to be the ones correcting you. We're not supposed to be the moral compass in a room full of adults who should have known better. But here we are."
"If my voice makes you uncomfortable, good. It should."
Eloise concluded:
"Because the minute adults start defending predators by debating the age of a child, you're not protecting the truth. You're protecting the predator. And you shouldn't need a freshman to tell you that."
People offered Eloise their praise and support, including a few famous folks.
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Some offered their own experiences.
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Others offered insights, support, and apologies.
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Kelly has yet to fully respond to the backlash.
The age of sexual consent in the United States ranges from 16 to 18 years old, depending on the state and circumstances, like relative age of both parties.
It is not legal for anyone over the age of 17 to engage in sexual activity with a child below 16 years of age in any U.S. state.
