Megyn Kelly’s not holding back. On Tuesday’s episode of her podcast, the media maven went IN on Kim Kardashian and Kanye West for the way they’re handling their daughter North West’s rapid-fire rise to fame—and honestly, the criticism is hitting different when you see what the 13-year-old’s actually doing right now.
Here’s the scene: North is on the cover of Dazed magazine with blue hair, false teeth, and facial piercings. She’s dropped a six-track debut EP called N0rth4Evr (May 1). And she just announced her first live music tour—at thirteen. If you’re asking what the rush is, so is Kelly. Joined by Dr. Drew on her show, Kelly laid it out: Kim and Kanye are “rushing” to make North into a star without thinking about what celebrity actually does to kids that young. “The downside of celebrity for many youngsters” was her phrase, and it landed.
Drew went further. He clocked that North has “bipolar disorder in her heritage”—a reference to Kanye’s publicly discussed bipolar II diagnosis—and then claimed (without evidence) that Kim and Kanye are “parents who have not been available” and “don’t look like they’re around all the time.” He even compared the situation to a “guillotine,” suggesting the public exposure could have serious negative consequences.
This isn’t random celebrity shade, though. It’s part of a bigger conversation that’s been brewing for months. Kim’s been defending her parenting on podcasts, saying North has “a lot of rules” despite what people think. But the numbers tell a different story: North’s homeschooled, she’s got a music career, she’s walking Paris Fashion Week at thirteen, and meanwhile—here’s the tea—Kim said in October that Kanye hadn’t been in contact with their kids “in a couple months.” So we’re talking about a kid whose celebrity life is booming while her father’s largely absent, and her mom’s apparently OK with letting it all happen very publicly.
The custody situation is co-parenting in name only. Kim confirmed she raises the kids “full time” and that Kanye hasn’t called in months. Yet she’s simultaneously allowing North to be one of the most visible celebrity kids right now—more visible than most actual celebrities at that age. That’s the paradox Kelly’s pointing out. You can’t be the primary parent protecting your kid AND be okay with your kid’s face on Dazed magazine’s cover at thirteen, doing interviews about her grunge aesthetic, while the other parent’s ghosting.
And look, North seems like she’s got ambition. She knows what she wants. That’s real. But there’s a difference between letting a kid express themselves and packaging them for mass consumption before they’re old enough to understand what that means. Skepta literally posted “Protect your kids people” after seeing North at Paris Fashion Week. That’s not hating—that’s a fellow artist with kids seeing something that made him uncomfortable.
The Kardashian machine has always been about exposure. That’s the brand. But North’s not a brand extension; she’s a kid. And Kelly’s raising a question a lot of parents are asking: at what point does “letting her express herself” become parental negligence dressed up as liberation?
The 16BARS take: Megyn Kelly didn’t say anything most internet strangers weren’t already thinking—but having a mainstream media voice say it out loud is different. North’s trajectory is thrilling and deeply uncomfortable at the same time, and neither Kim nor Kanye seem to be pumping the brakes.
