Megyn Kelly Has A History Of Risqué Outfits

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Megyn Kelly is known for her outspoken and often controversial viewpoints. The former Fox News host never shies away from sharing her opinion, even if it lands her in hot water. Kelly has the same devil-may-care attitude toward her wardrobe choices, often rocking looks that other female news journalists would avoid. But then, she does plenty of things that other journalists — male and female — would swerve.

For instance, Kelly has a knack for becoming the news. Who can forget the Donald Trump "blood" attack that made for one of the worst moments in presidential debate history? And, despite having avoided salacious scandals like those suffered by other high-profile news anchors, she's been embroiled in her fair share of questionable and problematic incidents.

If you had a dollar for every time Kelly has been controversial, you'd be sitting pretty on a sizeable fortune. There was the time when she insisted Jesus and Santa Claus were white. And the time she gave an impassioned defense of blackface. That zinger resulted in her losing her daytime show, "Megyn Kelly Today," after NBC kicked her to the curb in October 2018. Still, it's her sexy style and flirty fashion choices that consistently grab the headlines and titillate the tabloids. We're looking at some of Kelly's risqué outfits from over the years.

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Megyn Kelly went full-on Va-Va-Vamp for the Time 100 Gala in April 2018. She was clad in a gorgeous Alex Perry full-length red gown that was classic elegance in the front and lace party in the back. "@dougbrunt & I on our way to the #TIME100 – very happy to see the talented, smart & dynamic duo @SavannahGuthrie & @hodakotb as honorees tonight. #welldeserved," Kelly captioned a photo on X, formerly known as Twitter, of herself and her husband, Doug Brun, heading to the event.

Her fans heaped on the praise and admiration. "Wow! Look at Megyn, all pretty! Hubby handsome, too!" one wrote. "Megan, you look absolutely stunning!!!!!! Lady in red!" another raved. "Megyn, pure perfection! Beautiful pic," a third gushed.

According to Kelly, she was never big on fashion prior to starting her career in front of the camera. "Before I got into TV, I wasn't fashionable at all," she told the Los Angeles Times in March 2012. "I was more about getting into my legal clothes — navy, brown, or black suits; that was it." Still, she recognizes the importance of her style choices now, and the message clothing can send. "On the election nights, I'm more prone to wearing a suit," Kelly said. "Those are big nights, and you want to look more professional."

The little blue crushed velvet dress Megyn Kelly wore to meet with Vladimir Putin in June 2017 placed her firmly in the spotlight. However, people were divided on whether that was for good or bad reasons. Kelly's Yigal Azrouel off-the-shoulder cocktail dress had spaghetti straps and a split to the thigh; she paired it with sky-high strappy stiletto sandals. A video posted on X by NBC News showing Kelly shaking hands with Putin and India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was met with a slew of negative reactions.

EXCLUSIVE: NBC News' @megynkelly joins Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi ahead of tomorrow's International Economic Forum in Russia. pic.twitter.com/L12ahtuTDO

— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 1, 2017

"Those Spanks are looking good Megyn," one commenter sniped. "And what is up with the flirty and right off the shoulder dress. Unprofessional!" a second decreed. "Could she dress like serious journalist? She's not at a cocktail party," a third demanded. This was somewhat puzzling because she was at a cocktail party, well, a dinner event, to be precise — despite headlines to the contrary. "Megyn Kelly sports off-the-shoulder velvet dress to interview Vladimir Putin," ET (via AOL Entertainment) wrongly claimed. "What Are We to Make of Megyn Kelly's Interview Attire?" The Cut asked.

The journalist cast aside the risqué outfits when she sat down with Putin for the actual interview in the debut episode of NBC's "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly." Instead, she wore a round-neck black and white top and white trousers. Sadly for Kelly, that also resulted in bad headlines, albeit for entirely different reasons. Critics slammed the interview for being a complete snore-fest.

Megyn Kelly's little blue Putin dress wasn't the first time she's been criticized for daring to bare her shoulders. In July 2016, she caught heat for wearing a black Ralph Lauren spaghetti-strap halter-neck dress while reporting on the Republican National Convention. Viewers, pundits, and the media were collectively up in arms.

"@FoxNews Still hard to take your coverage seriously when @megynkelly looks like she's working for an escort agency," a hater wrote X. "Seriously! I just saw a pic. It's like @megynkelly forgot to finish getting dressed. #RNCinCLE," another commented.

However, Kelly couldn't have cared less. She stood by her style choice and said wearing what many perceived as a risqué outfit felt empowering. "I put on the most feminine thing I had, and I rocked the coverage," she told The Cut in October 2018. "I asked all my normal questions, which are always probing and often merciless, in my sexy dress." Kelly explained it was her way of proving she can be both bodacious and brainy at the same time. "Just because I'm blonde and I have my sexy dress on doesn't make me a bimbo," she said.

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Megyn Kelly really rocked a risqué outfit at the 2017 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter. The $4,900 J Mendel Paris racer sequin embroidered black and cream gown comprised a daring and dramatic keyhole cutout on the top front panel and a thigh-high split. Kelly finished off the look with platform sandals.

Kelly's fashion transformation has seen her go from high street to haute couture. In a December 2016 interview with The New York Times, she talked about her style evolution. Kelly said that when she started on TV, she still relied on the functional, no-nonsense clothes she wore as an attorney, which included a "lot of Ann Taylor and Theory" suits in block colors and pinstripes. However, after her career took off and she landed her own show, Kelly turned to a close friend, who worked as a personal stylist, for help with a wardrobe overhaul.

"She wanted to be fashionable not just in the news world, but in any world," stylist Dana Perriello told The Times, explaining that between the two of them, they developed Kelly's distinctive "strong, stylish, sleek, tailored, feminine, but not frilly" look.

The black leather mini kilt that Meghan Kelly wore to interview Donald Trump in September 2023 was far from conventional news journalist attire. "The full interview with @realdonaldtrump is live now on @siriusxm ch 111, and available on all platforms after," she captioned an Instagram photo of them posing together, her hand on her hip and his thumb stuck up in the air.

The comments section lit up. "You forgot your whip but I guess you can always use one of his fake Time magazine covers instead," a detractor wrote. "What the hell is she wearing. Needs to cover those legs," another opined.

Kelly's relationship with Trump is pretty weird. Few can forget his "blood coming out of her wherever" comment after she dared to question him during the August 2015 Republican debate on his problematic track record of misogyny and sexism. Trump continued his attacks on Kelly over the years, slamming her viewer figures and interview abilities. However, she was on stage fiercely defending Trump during his presidential campaign closing event in November 2024. "He got mocked by the left by saying he would be a protector of women," she said. "He will be a protector of women, and it's why I'm voting for him. He will close the border, and he will keep the boys out of women's sports where they don't belong."