Rosie O’Donnell has unleashed a blunt attack on Megyn Kelly after the former Fox News host defended Russell Brand, the comedian sentenced to more than 10 years in prison following convictions on one count of rape and three sexual assault charges, as reported by Recorder Online.

The outspoken comic directed her anger at Kelly on Threads, responding with a short and profane message. “Go f— urself Megan,” O’Donnell posted, misspelling Kelly’s first name in the message as indicated by the original post’s notation.

O’Donnell’s post followed a social media link from comedian D.L. Hughley. The link included a summary of remarks attributed to Kelly, including her description of Brand’s conviction as a “political witch hunt” and statements that challenged the accusations presented against him during his trial.

 

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Brand received his prison sentence on Monday. The punishment came after he was convicted on the rape count and three sexual assault charges, a verdict that Kelly has forcefully opposed while using her own platform to question both the case and the length of the sentence.

Kelly interviewed Brand in April, before the verdict sent him to prison. Since his conviction, she has continued defending the disgraced comic and has criticized the sentence on her podcast, arguing that more than 10 years behind bars was excessive.

Her criticism also turned toward the British court that imposed the sentence. In a Monday video, Kelly said, “This is a country that let how many of these immigrants who had come into their country rape young white girls with impunity for years?”

The video was described as a broadside against the court, and Kelly used that comparison while objecting to Brand’s punishment. Her public defense followed the April interview and continued after the convictions, putting her directly in O’Donnell’s line of fire.

The two women approach politics from sharply different positions. Kelly and Brand share many conservative political beliefs, while O’Donnell is identified with a more liberal perspective and has remained publicly outspoken about President Donald Trump.

O’Donnell moved to Ireland when Trump took office in January 2025. Her criticism of Kelly arrived against that established political divide, but the immediate trigger was Hughley’s link summarizing Kelly’s statements about Brand’s conviction and the accusations made at trial.

The post itself did not offer an extended rebuttal to Kelly’s claims. Instead, O’Donnell delivered a terse dismissal, aiming her fury at Kelly personally after seeing the summary of the pundit’s comments and her characterization of the verdict as politically driven.

Kelly’s comments focused not only on the verdict but also on the prison term. Through her podcast and Monday video, she argued against the severity of the sentence and attacked the British court responsible for sending Brand to prison for more than 10 years.

For O’Donnell, the confrontation adds another public political clash to a career that has included television, comedy and acting. She hosted an eponymous talk show from 1996 to 2002 and later discussed how renewed attention around her feud with Trump had affected her public profile.

In an August interview, O’Donnell said the attention generated by her ongoing 20-year feud with Trump made her feel “re-famous .” The remark came after her move to Ireland and reflected the renewed notice she said the long-running conflict had brought her.

Images accompanying the report placed both figures at major New York events. Kelly was photographed at the 2025 TIME100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 24, 2025, while O’Donnell attended the 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2026.

The latest exchange, however, was far less ceremonial. Kelly’s continued defense of Brand after his conviction drew O’Donnell’s profane response, leaving no ambiguity about the comic’s view of the former Fox News host’s public opposition to the verdict and sentence.

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