Charlize Theron is ‘really hoping’ Megyn Kelly sees ‘Bombshell’
Charlize Theron appeared on Tuesday’s The Ellen DeGeneres Show to debut a new Bombshell trailer and talk about portraying Megyn Kelly in the movie, which tells the story of Fox News honcho Roger Ailes’s undoing amid sexual misconduct allegations.
With her co-stars Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie by her side, Theron revealed that Kelly has not reached out about her portrayal — despite public niceties back and forth.
“No,” replied Theron when asked if she spoke with Kelly. “We used a lot of source material in finding the story and also spoke to a lot of women who were part of this story — some of them were still working at Fox, some of them really didn’t want their names out there. So as a team, we just really decided to protect our sources.”
She continued, “Megyn is fully aware of the film and I”m really hoping she’ll see it. We want everybody to see it who is involved in it.”
In the film, Kidman plays Gretchen Carlson, whose 2016 sexual harassment lawsuit led to Ailes’s resignation. Kelly came forward after Carlson in making allegations against Ailes, who is portrayed by John Lithgow. Margot Robbie plays Fox News associate producer Kayla Pospisil, who was invented for the movie.
Last month, Kelly told the Daily Mail that she didn’t hate that Theron was playing her. She called herself a “fan” of the South African actress, saying “she seems smart, seems like a good mom, so I could do worse.”
Theron told Entertainment Tonight soon after that Kelly’s comments were "incredibly kind.” She added, "We try to, as actors and creative storytellers, we try to do all of this with integrity, so that was always where it came from. So for her to feel good about that, I'm sure it can't be easy for her, so I'm incredibly understanding."
Earlier this year, Theron told Variety that she had “empathy” for Kelly after playing her in the movie. “I didn’t know how complicated her situation was,” she said. I think for a lot of people, they didn’t understand why she just didn’t speak up. She was in a complicated place, and as a human being, I have empathy for that...”
And on Watch What Happens Live in May, Theron called Kelly a conflicted human being —and so am I.” She went on to say she has “no place to judge her or say anything other than I wish her well.”
The new trailer for Bombshell was also debuted on Ellen. In addition to tackling the Ailes allegations, it included Theron acting out Kelly’s reaction to hearing Donald Trump’s infamous comment about her having “blood coming out of her wherever.” As she was about to bite into a piece of pizza, she said, shocked, “Did he just accuse of me of anger menstruating?” After that, as cameras followed her, the character asked, “Wait, am I going to be the story? I’m going to be the story.” Another clip showed Kelly and her husband, Doug Brunt (portrayed by Mark Duplass), in bed and he says, “You know the entire country is talking about your period right now.” There is also a scene in which Kelly comforts her children after a paparazzi is spotted outside their window.
Fox News founder Ailes resigned as CEO in 2016 amid the sexual harassment allegations. He died the following year.
Bombshell comes out on Dec. 20 and also stars Allison Janney, Connie Britton and Kate McKinnon.
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