Megyn Kelly Criticizes Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire Layoffs Strategy in Viral Remarks

Megyn Kelly sharply criticized Ben Shapiro’s management of The Daily Wire following reports of mass layoffs, arguing that Shapiro’s strategy of targeting established conservative figures—including herself and Tucker Carlson—has harmed the company’s ability to grow and retain talent.

In a series of remarks delivered on Monday, Kelly condemned Shapiro’s approach, stating,

“You haven’t moved at all off of your position that you get to dictate who’s part of the conservative movement and who isn’t. Meanwhile, I had been at Fox News for 16 years before anyone even knew his name. Some of us had been in this media space for a very long time fighting very important fights for decades. That includes Tucker Carlson, for sure. And it also includes yours truly.”

Kelly referenced a 2025 Turning Point USA speech in which Shapiro publicly labeled her a “coward,” calling the comment part of a broader pattern of divisive rhetoric. She suggested Shapiro’s tactics have backfired, particularly as The Daily Wire faces financial and operational challenges.

“It’s like, OK, when your business is hemorrhaging, maybe cast a wide net. Maybe launch your criticisms on an individualized basis, take on Tucker’s arguments, take on mine, whatever,” Kelly said. “You think I’m not saying enough about X — OK, you can spend your show talking about that if you want, I’m sure your audience doesn’t really want to spend its day hearing about that. But OK, you can do that. As opposed to, ‘I shall decree who is in and who is out. I appoint myself master of the conservative movement.’ That doesn’t work.”

Kelly also criticized The Daily Wire for expanding beyond news coverage into ventures like a paywalled fantasy film “The Pendragon Cycle” and consumer products such as razors and chocolate, questioning the company’s priorities. “The Daily Wire is multifaceted,” she said. “They invested tens of millions of dollars in this dragon movie, which they kept behind a paywall. It had no chance of paying off for them. It was just absolutely foolhardy. Now they’re selling razors and they’re selling chocolate and all sorts of different products, as opposed just doing the news.”

Despite her criticism, Kelly expressed support for Shapiro personally, acknowledging a history of behind-the-scenes cooperation before his public attacks. “I have never been anything but good to Ben, and we were dealing with each other behind the scenes in a very lovely manner before he attacked me publicly at the Turning Point event in December,” she said. “I’m rooting for Ben too. I don’t want to see Ben suffer. I don’t want to see his company implode, but it certainly seems to be.”

Reports indicate The Daily Wire laid off between 50% and 60% of its staff, with most cuts concentrated at the company’s Nashville headquarters. A spokesperson confirmed the reductions, stating,

“The cuts were largely concentrated at our Nashville production office. As the company has invested in new formats, locations and production models, our footprint there has evolved.”

The spokesperson added that The Daily Wire has expanded into new formats and locations over the past year, though the company has not officially confirmed the full scope of the layoffs.