Earlier this week, we reported that the former Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert’s husband Timothy Busfield had been accused of sexually abusing two 11 year-old twin boys. Yesterday, we reported that Gilbert was standing by her husband in the wake of these allegations.
Now, the former Fox News host Megyn Kelly is speaking out to eviscerate Gilbert over her husband’s arrest.
Kelly Torches Gilbert
Kelly, 55, took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to call out Gilbert for her hypocrisy.
“On Nov 17, actor Melissa Gilbert made sure she got herself in the paper by attacking yours truly for allegedly downplaying the seriousness of [Jeffrey] Epstein’s abuse of teenagers (in fact I made clear that abuse at any age disgusts me),” Kelly wrote. “When she launched her attack, SHE KNEW that her husband, actor/director Timothy Busfield was actively under investigation for allegedly M0LESTING TWO CHILDREN WHEN THEY WERE 7 YEARS OLD.”
“But Melissa saw an opportunity to play the ‘avenger’ of victims and she took it, dishonestly attacking and lecturing your reporter on abuse claims in a cynical effort to get some Chips in the Good Person bank, undoubtedly knowing that this story about her husband would soon break—replete with the details on how she allegedly bought presents for these boys and helped foster the relationship,” she continued. “
Not stopping there, Kelly proceeded to double down.
“Shame on Melissa Gilbert for her despicable ploy,” she stated. “And shame on Timothy Busfield, who denies the charges but reportedly admits to ‘tickling’ the young boys’ stomachs and legs and acting ‘playful’ w/them while in an authority position.”
Kelly also torched Gilbert on The Megyn Kelly Show on Monday. There, she went so far as to accuse Gilbert of knowing “full well that her husband had been accused of molesting two young boys.”
Watch Kelly talk more about this in the video below.
Gilbert’s Previous Attack On Kelly
This comes two months after Kelly and Gilbert got into a public spat. Their issue was over comments Kelly made about the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
On the Nov. 12 episode of The Megyn Kelly Show, Kelly claimed that a person “very close to the case” was alleging that Epstein “was not a pedophile” because he was “into the barely legal type.”
“There’s a difference between a 15-year-old and a 5-year-old, you know? It’s just, whatever, it’s sick,” Kelly said at the time. “Every time we start talking about Epstein, it makes your skin crawl, right? The whole thing is just disgusting.”
This didn’t sit well with Gilbert, who fired back in a blistering Instagram post. She has deleted her Instagram account in the wake of Busfield’s arrest.
“So, I debated posting this but, I feel compelled to share. After seeing many women’s posts with the hashtags #iwasfifteen #imfifteen #iwasachild, I decided to Google search myself at that age and see what came up,” she wrote. “And this is some of what I found…and now, at this age, at this time, I am actually nauseated.”
Gilbert went on to reference her onscreen romance with Dean Butler, who played her husband, Almanzo Wilder, on Little House on the Prairie when he was 23 and she was 15.
“The girl on vacation in Hawaii with her family, is the same girl who was expected to [be] ‘all in love with’ and kiss a man on film who was several years older than she was,” Gilbert lamented. “Through the lens of today, this is shocking. I have no words other than to say, ‘I WAS A CHILD.’”
Gilbert Addresses Kelly
Gilbert credited both her mother and her Little House on the Prairie co-star Michael Landon with protecting her.
“‘I WAS FIFTEEN.”’ And I was the good news,” she wrote. “Thank God my mom and Michael and so many others were there to make sure I was safe. Can you imagine if I hadn’t had them all? I am so fortunate (Sort of). Many other young women aren’t. “
Gilbert ended her post by writing, “@megynkelly you need to be careful with your words.”
Gilbert Stands By Busfield
Busfield, 68, surrendered to the Albuquerque Police Department on Tuesday. This came after an arrest warrant was issued last Friday alleging that Busfield engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with two boys. Busfield has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. He is currently being held without bond.
Gilbert, who has been married to Busfield since 2013, stood by him in the wake of his arrest.
“During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment,” Gilbert’s rep told Us Weekly on Tuesday. “Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected.”
Gilbert’s rep also said that she will be “honoring the request of Tim’s lawyers not to speak publicly while the legal process unfolds.”
Knowing that her own husband was being investigated for child sex abuse, perhaps Gilbert should have thought twice before messing with Kelly. In the end, it’s hard to disagree with Kelly on this one!