Mika Brzezinski responds to allegations that she 'bullied' Kellyanne Conway about sexual assault

Mika Brzezinski’s Kellyanne Conway comments begin at the 2:01 mark above.

Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski is responding to accusations that she tried to bully Kellyanne Conway into divulging details of her own history of being sexually assaulted.

The tussle began on Thursday morning, when Brzezinski called out Conway in a morning broadcast, responded to statements that Conway had made regarding the Kavanaugh hearings and while defending President Trump — who had mocked Christine Blasey Ford‘s Senate Judiciary Committee testimony against Brett Kavanaugh at a Mississippi rally on Tuesday. Conway told reporters regarding the professor, “She’s been treated like a Fabergé egg by all of us, starting with me and the president.”

Conway had previously told CNN host Jake Tapper: “And let me just say also it’s not a meeting of the #MeToo movement. I feel very empathetic, frankly, for victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment and rape. That — I’m a victim of sexual assault. I don’t expect Judge Kavanaugh or Jake Tapper or Jeff Flake or anybody to be held responsible for that. You have to be responsible for your own conduct.”

Brzezinski addressed all of that with her controversial on-air comments on Thursday, noting, “Kellyanne Conway went on a Sunday show and in the middle of making her point she announced she’s a victim of sexual assault. Really? Oh, my gosh. OK. Women should be heard, and apparently they get treated like Fabergé eggs.”

“So tell us your story. Who is your attacker? Who broke the law? Who hurt you?” said Brzezinski. “You seemed really uncomfortable when you let that slip out. Your voice got small, your voice cracked, you had to clear your throat. You were really uncomfortable just saying ‘I am a victim of sexual assault.’ And I say that as a victim of sexual assault myself.”

She continued, “So I want to ask, why can’t you be the egg, Kellyanne, the Fabergé egg, and tell your story? Because you say women should be heard. You talk out of both sides of your mouth. You say that women should be heard, their stories are believable or credible and understanding and compelling. Well, let’s hear yours. It’s very convenient to drop that, but I want to know your story. I want to know what happened. You should have justice, shouldn’t you?”

When Brzezinski’s co-host (and fiancé) Joe Scarborough tried to speak, she said, “No, hold on, I’m not done. You can’t just throw that out as a political dagger to protect this reprehensible predator of a president. And make an announcement that you’re a victim of sexual assault that therefore for some reason makes people not ask you about it? If women are being treated like Fabergé eggs when they announce their stories, then you go ahead and tell yours and see how easy it is.”

“That was as low as it gets,” she said. “I would get up and leave if I were you today. I would never want to face the cameras again, unless you’re willing to tell your story just like Dr. Ford did, OK? And see what it feels like to be treated like a Fabergé egg, like you say.”

Brzezinski added, “You can’t use being a victim of sexual assault, throw it out there, and then literally dirty, sully the name of someone who has stepped in front of the cameras before the United States of America and told her story. And you say that she’s being treated like a Fabergé egg. That’s just delicious at this point.”

Following her comments, Brzezinski was immediately slammed for “bullying” Conway, from both the public and from media peers Greta Van Susteren and S.E. Cupp. Brzezinski responded to their claims on Twitter.

And in a deleted tweet to CNN host Chris Cuomo, who had wondered “is it fair?” for Brzezinski to ask Conway for more details, Brzezinski wrote, “As a victim of a violent sexual assault myself, I would never force anyone to come forward. … You need to actually read and listen to what I said. … Might be hard when you’re so quick to tweet.” Brzezinski had first revealed in 2017 that she’d been sexually assaulted, while defending claims that she pressured alleged sexual assault victims of journalist Mark Halperin to go public.

Cuomo and Brzezinski ultimately agreed to a Twitter ceasefire, deleting various tweets.

In December, when journalist Halperin was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women, Brzezinski said, according to The Hill, “We also have some men who are willing to face the music, who are willing to face the facts, who are willing to admit to their actions 10, 20 years ago, even five years ago. Mark Halperin is more than willing to meet with his accusers and apologize [to] them face-to-face. I’ve actually tried to offer him to them. They don’t want to talk to him. They don’t want to talk to him.”

She added, “There are some hypocrisies here. When things happen and men actually want to validate that truth, that’s important that we actually allow that if we want to grow as a society and learn from each other.”

When social media said Brzezinski was cornering victims, she released an apology to CNN Money, stating in part, “In our discussion about sexual harassment this morning, I said some things that hurt people. In the case of Mark, my goal today was to start a conversation about hearing from the men whenever we can, but I realize that it is not my place. It isn’t my call to make, and for that I am truly sorry. As a victim of sexual assault, I understand that each individual’s case is different. This is up to the victims, some of whom I’ve been in contact with. My hope is for all of us to come together to support the brave women who speak out and help make workplaces safer as we continue this difficult conversation in the months and years ahead.”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Kellyanne Conway says Christine Blasey Ford is being ‘treated like a Fabergé egg,’ defends Trump’s mockery

• Senator Orrin Hatch accused of ‘slut shaming’ Julie Swetnick by tweeting letter about the ‘high-end call girl’ who loves ‘group sex’

• Man tells black grandmother campaigning for Beto O’Rourke to go ‘back where you came from’

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.