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Megyn Kelly calls Prince Harry a 'fool' after his comments on First Amendment: 'Better to remain silent'

'I’ve got so much I want to say about the First Amendment as I sort of understand it, but it is bonkers,' Harry said

Prince Harry's comments on the First Amendment in the United States have found a wave of backlash. During a podcast, Harry said that the First Amendment of the US Constitution was "bonkers". Among his many critics is news anchor Megyn Kelly.

Prince Harry made the comments on an episode of Dax Shepard and Monica Padman’s ‘Armchair Expert’ podcast. Talking about the paparazzi, Harry said, "I don't want to start sort of going down the First Amendment route because that's a huge subject and one in which I don't understand because I've only been here a short period of time. But, you can find a loophole in anything. And you can capitalize or exploit what’s not said rather than uphold what is said. I’ve got so much I want to say about the First Amendment as I sort of understand it, but it is bonkers.”

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Kelly, who was a talk show host at Fox News from 2004 to 2017, and a host and correspondent with NBC News from 2017 to 2018, and now produces a podcast, ‘The Megyn Kelly Show’, said of the British royal, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” Kelly added in parenthesis: “Lincoln or Twain or someone smarter than Prince Harry.”

This quote of uncertain origins is not the only criticism Harry received. In a lengthy column published in the Daily Mail, British journalist and longtime critic of the Sussexes, Piers Morgan called him “spineless whiny cry baby”. Morgan wrote: “The First Amendment is one of the things I most admire about the United States, especially coming from a country like Britain where free speech for journalists like me is now heavily regulated.” Morgan said that “we can safely assume that [Harry] just hates anything which affords any protection to journalists to say things he doesn't like.” 

Republican Party member and junior United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz said, “Nice that he can say that,” in a sarcastic tweet on Harry’s comments. Dan Crenshaw, the former United States Navy SEAL officer serving as the United States Representative for Texas' 2nd congressional district, wrote on Twitter: “Well I just doubled the size of my Independence Day party,” quoting a news article on the comments.

Nigel Farage, the British politician who served as Leader of the UK Independence Party from 2006 to 2009, and 2010 to 2016 and as Leader of the Brexit Party from 2019 to 2021, wrote on Twitter: “For Prince Harry to condemn the USA's First Amendment shows he has lost the plot. Soon he will not be wanted on either side of the pond.”

The First Amendment in the United States Constitution provides that Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.