Megyn Kelly has sparked major backlash after publicly criticizing the red carpet outfit worn by Mariska Hargitay’s 15-year-old daughter at the 2026 Emmy Awards.
During the September 16 episode of The Megyn Kelly Show, Kelly took aim at the mother-daughter duo’s matching red gowns, questioning how Hargitay could approve the look.
But the criticism quickly turned back on Kelly herself, with online commenters resurfacing her controversial comments about Jeffrey Epstein’s interest in 15-year-old girls from last year.
One commenter pointed to what they saw as a contradiction, writing, “15 is considered a child now? What about the Epstein victims that you said weren’t kids?!!”
Megyn Kelly took aim at Mariska Hargitay’s 15-year-old daughter over her “inappropriate” Emmys outfit
Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images
Mariska Hargitay made the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards a family affair on Monday, September 14, arriving at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles with her husband, Peter Hermann, and their three children.
The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star was also making history as the first woman to host the ceremony in 15 years.
She and daughter Amaya Hermann matched in custom red Monse looks, while the rest of the family coordinated in black.
The matching dresses were designed as a tribute to Hargitay’s late mother, Hollywood icon Jayne Mansfield.
As images from the ceremony circulated online, Megyn Kelly questioned Mariska’s decision to let Amaya wear a dress with a plunging neckline, repeatedly emphasizing that she was only 15.
“She shows up with her 15-year-old daughter at her side. Nothing wrong with that,” Kelly said before turning her attention to the teenager’s outfit. “I’m sorry, would you please look at how her 15-year-old child was dressed?”
Kelly questioned how anyone could approve the custom dress after seeing how much of the teenager’s chest it exposed
Kelly then made a graphic comment about the teenager’s body before concluding that the dress was “very inappropriate for a 15-year-old girl.”
“What are you, what could you be thinking?” she continued. “If my daughter ever wore that kind of a dress downstairs and wanted to go to an event with me, I would say, Get your a** back upstairs right now.”
The talk show host also argued that the look could not have been an accidental fashion choice because the outfits had been planned in advance.
“Clearly this was designed and approved in advance by her mother. You don’t, like, I’m hosting the Emmys, and I’m just gonna wing my fashion and the, and the fashion of my daughter who’s gonna be my date.”
Megyn continued, “No. They had, I’m sure, a stylist work with them. A designer designed the gowns possibly… They said that it was channeling an actual dress worn by Jayne Mansfield.”
She then compared the coverage of the mother and daughter’s dresses, saying, “the mother’s chest is more covered up than the daughter’s.”
Megyn’s past comments about Jeffrey Epstein and 15-year-old girls soon resurfaced amid the backlash
Kelly ultimately dismissed the tribute as justification for the teenager’s outfit and described it as “an insane choice for a child.”
“She’s channeling North West vibes,” she added.
Some commenters agreed with Megyn’s criticism, with one person writing, “Mariska looked beautiful in that dress, but the daughter was totally inappropriate for a 15-year-old. You are right.”
Another wrote, “Yeah it’s cute but waaaay too low cut for a teen. Even as an adult I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing that to a public event.”
One comment read, “Totally inappropriate for a young girl. My parents would not let me out of my bedroom, let alone the house in that!!!”
However, as clips of the former Fox News anchor repeatedly emphasizing Amaya’s age spread online, some netizens resurfaced remarks she made about Jeffrey Epstein in November last year.
While discussing Epstein on her show, Kelly said she knew someone “very, very close to this case” who believed Epstein “was not a pe**phile.”
Mariska and Amaya’s Emmys appearance was a tribute to Jayne Mansfield and marked a major family moment
Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
According to her, that person reportedly believed Epstein was “into the b**ely legal type” and “liked 15-year-old girls.”
“I realize this is disgusting. I’m definitely not trying to make an excuse for this,” Kelly said at the time. “I’m just giving you facts that he wasn’t into, like, 8-year-olds.”
Kelly also said Epstein was interested in “the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were, but would look legal to a passer-by.”
She later acknowledged that people could see the distinction as meaningless but argued that she saw a difference “between a 15-year-old and a 5-year-old.”
Those remarks triggered significant backlash at the time, with critics arguing that Megyn was minimizing the a**se of minors.
The backlash included former child actors and other women sharing photographs of themselves at age 15 to emphasize how young they were at the time.
The campaign became associated with the hashtag #IWasFifteen.
Some viewers therefore questioned why Kelly was so emphatic about the vulnerability and childhood of a 15-year-old in one context while her earlier Epstein discussion had focused on distinctions between 15-year-olds and much younger children.
Away from the controversy, the red carpet appearance had a much more personal meaning for Hargitay and her daughter.
The actress has long spoken about her late mother, who passed away when Hargitay was three years old.
Her 2026 documentary My Mom Jayne explored Mansfield’s life and her own complicated relationship with her mother’s legacy.
The Emmys came just days after Hargitay won two Creative Arts Emmys connected to the documentary, making the tribute especially significant.
“Shame on her. It is terribly inappropriate and sick. Parading your 15-year-old like that? How disgusting!” one netizen fumed
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