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Rosie O'Donnell
has slammed Megyn Kelly after the former Fox News anchor called Russell Brand's 10-year, six-month prison sentence for rape and sexual assault "an outrage" and "insane."On a Nov. 9 episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show," Kelly called the case against the British comedian a "political witch hunt" and said, "Good lord. Ten and a half years in prison. He grabbed a boob? He kissed the lady? He sniffed a lady?"
Under a Threads post on Nov. 10 sharing Kelly's comments, "The View" alum wrote, "Go [expletive] urself Megan."
USA TODAY reached out to Kelly's representative for comment.
On the episode, the conservative commentator also referenced an anal sex encounter involving one of Brand's accusers, saying, "He is going to prison for ten and a half years for that. This is insane." She repeatedly described the sexual assaults as "grabbing boobs, kissing, sniffing."
What did Megyn Kelly say about Russel Brand's conviction?
Kelly also played a clip from the Nov. 9 sentencing hearing in which Judge Joel Bennathan told Brand that the comedian became "sexual predator as his fame grew."
"He absolutely had a finger on the scale," Kelly said of the judge. "He clearly didn't like Russell and neither does the press."
She also accused news coverage of portraying Brand in an unfair light, saying, "If you were to read the articles about Russell's case, his verdict and his sentencing over the past three days, it is clear that they are treating him like he is one of the most prolific sexual predators ever to roam the Earth."
At London's Southwark Crown Court on Nov. 5, a jury found Brand guilty of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others from 2004 to 2009. Brand had pleaded not guilty to all seven charges, and jurors acquitted him of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.
Kelly's criticism of the sentencing comes after she interviewed Brand in April.
As she questioned the conviction, Kelly said that one of the women involved in the case had agreed to vaginal sex with Brand that night and called the woman's account a "made-up claim," noting that a prosecutor had read her victim impact statement in court.
The conviction followed a four-week trial, where prosecutors said the first offense took place in 1999, when Brand allegedly raped a woman in a hotel room after a show in England. In 2001, he allegedly tried to drag a woman into the men's bathroom cubicle in the MTV Europe offices after she complimented his shirt, according to prosecutors.
Bennathan said in his sentencing remarks that one of the women had agreed to vaginal sex with a condom when she was 21 and that Brand removed it without her consent, forced anal sex on her, and continued despite her asking him to stop twice.
Contributing: Sameen Chaudhry, Brendan Morrow and Liza Esquibias, USA TODAY; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rosie O'Donnell slams Megyn Kelly for calling Russell Brand's sentence 'insane'
