Megyn Kelly hit out at the three female leaders of the Los Angeles Fire Department as wildfires continue to devastate Southern California.
Kelly, a former Fox News host, took special aim at Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, Training and Support Bureau Commander Jaime Brown and Deputy Chief in Equity and Human Resources Bureau Kristine Larson amid criticism that the city focused too much on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to properly prepare forces to battle the fires.
‘These three women who are at the top there are all, I mean honestly, I’m not trying to be mean, but they’re obese,’ Kelly said on her podcast Monday. ‘These are overweight, out of shape women.
‘And the last thing I want to see if I am in a burning building is A) a woman and B) an obese woman,’ she continued.
‘Who takes comfort [in that]? “I’m going to die, but it’s in the presence of an obese lesbian,”‘ Kelly asked rhetorically, before she started to laugh at the notion.
‘This is ridiculous,’ she said.
‘I speak for all women – I believe speak for all females in Los Angeles – when I say: We want a strong man to rescue us. That’s what we want,’ she concluded.
‘Do we ask for too much?’
Megyn Kelly hit out at the three female leaders of the Los Angeles Fire Department for their weight in her podcast on Monday
She took special aim at Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, Training and Support Bureau Commander Jaime Brown and Deputy Chief in Equity and Human Resources Bureau Kristine Larson
Kelly’s comments came in stark contrast to remarks Larson made in a now-viral video from 2019, in which she insisted residents want to be rescued by someone with whom they identify.
‘It gives that person a little bit more ease, knowing that somebody might understand their situation better,’ Larson said.
She also seemed to blame helpless fire victims for their need to be rescued as she addressed concerns that female firefighters may not be strong enough to carry a man out of a burning building.
‘He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire,’ Larson stunningly claimed.
Her comments infuriated many online, as the deadly blazes claimed the lives of at least 24 people and left more than 200,000 residents having to flee their homes.
‘Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Chief #KristineLarson should NOT be in her position if a heavy man is someone she won’t even consider rescuing from a fire,’ one California resident posted on X.
‘She’s better off working at Walmart or McDonalds.’
Larson has been ridiculed online for insisting in a 2019 video that residents want to be rescued by someone with whom they identify
Other city officials have also come under fire, namely Mayor Karen Bass, who slashed the fire department’s budget in the years before the massive fires erupted.
In fact, the LA Fire Department was left begging the city’s council to approve nearly $100million to replace its entire fleet just two months ago.
‘Many vehicles have surpasses their expected service life, leading to increased maintenance costs, reduces parts availability and potential downtime,’ the department wrote in its request after years of depleted funds.
The department’s budget steadily grew from from $674.27million in 2019 to $819.64million in 2025, but it faced a significant fall this year from $837.19million in 2024.
Fire Chief Kristin Crowley wrote in a December memo that the cut of $17.6million ‘adversely affected the Department’s ability to maintain core operations, such as technology and communication infrastructure, payroll processing, training, fire prevention, and community education.’
She also noted there was a $7million reduction in overtime pay.
AccuWeather estimates that the damage and economic losses from the blazes could be anywhere from $250billion to $275billion, marking the nation’s costliest disaster ever
The wildfires in Southern California have taken the lives of at least 24 people and displaced more than 200,000 residents
Yet a leaked memo last week revealed that Bass demanded the LAFD make an additional $49million budget cut, on top of the $17.6million cut.
The extra cuts, requested just days before fires broke out and devastated swathes of Los Angeles, would have shut down 16 fire stations and crippled the department’s ability to respond to emergencies, sources previously told DailyMail.com.
Meanwhile, the larger Los Angeles County has been accused of throwing money at DEI initiatives while cutting its own firefighting budget.
Fox News reported that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on initiatives including $14,010 to the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, $190,000 to the Homeless and HIV needle exchange program, and $100,000 of county funds to pay for Juneteenth celebrations.
But now, AccuWeather – a company that provides data on weather and its impact – estimates that the damage and economic losses from the blazes could be anywhere from $250billion to $275billion, marking the nation’s costliest disaster ever.
