Debra Messing has told her fans she regrets going on Megyn Kelly’s new talk show on Monday (25Sep17).
The actress appeared on the first-ever episode of Megyn Kelly’s Today, the presenter’s new hour-long segment of the Today show, for an interview with her Will & Grace co-stars Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally.
When a fan asked her on Instagram why she had appeared on Kelly’s show, Debra replied, “Honestly I didn’t know it was MK until that morning. The itinerary just said Today Show appearance. Regret going on. Dismayed by her comments.”
Kelly, who moved to NBC from Fox News earlier this year, receive criticism for the interview, during which she brought out Will & Grace fan Russell Turner to meet the cast of the show.
“Is it true that you became a lawyer – and you became gay – because of Will?” Kelly asked him, while Turner gamely replied, “I look at Will Truman and I’m like, ‘He has it made!’ Lawyer, best apartment in New York City, and gay? Come on, trifecta.”
The presenter then surprised Turner by giving him two free tickets for a live Will & Grace taping in Los Angeles and as the fan cheered and the audience applauded, she quipped, “I don’t know about the lawyer thing, but I think the Will & Grace thing and the gay thing is going to work out great!”
Earlier in the interview, Megyn had discussed the show’s cultural impact and lasting legacy within the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community with co-creator David Kohan.
A gay man who had been in the studio audience of the show wrote to Debra on Instagram telling her she didn’t look dismayed by the interview and added, “As a gay man, it was such an honor to be in the room yesterday with you all. Really disappointed and sad to see your response today. What about offering to help her (Megyn) make some authentic connections to the LGBTQ community as opposed to being so dismissive?”
The 49-year-old replied directly to the fan, writing, “Saying I was dismayed is not dismissive.”
The Will & Grace revival premieres on Thursday.
