Megyn Kelly Pushes Back on Sunny Hostin’s Claim Racism Kept Her Romance Novels From Hollywood

Megyn Kelly didn’t hold back while reacting to Sunny Hostin’s claim that Hollywood’s “gatekeeping” around Black and Brown stories has kept her romance novels offscreen.

During a recent episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show," the conservative commentator discussed Hostin’s remarks with After Party host Emily Jashinsky — before dramatically reading a steamy passage from one of The View star’s books.

Hostin recently defended her partnership with Fountain 0, an artificial intelligence startup that intends to adapt her novels into film and television productions.

The attorney explained that she had spent six years attempting to get her stories made into movies or TV series.

“The gatekeeping in Hollywood around Black and Brown creative content is insane,” Hostin declared on The View. “I cannot get New York Times best-selling books onto the screen to tell diverse stories to diverse communities.”

When fellow The View co-host Joy Behar questioned how AI would solve the problem, Hostin said the technology “cuts out the gatekeeping” and could allow her to present a completed product directly to streaming platforms.

Behar also challenged whether replacing human performers with AI-generated images would truly benefit Black artists. Hostin countered that studios were already refusing to make the projects and argued that Black and Brown actors were not receiving enough opportunities in Hollywood.

Kelly sarcastically introduced the clip by telling Jashinsky that Hostin believed there was a particular reason her books had not received the Hollywood treatment.

“She is convinced that the reason her — trust me — smash-hit romance novels have not been made into movies. Can you guess what the reason might be?” Kelly asked Jashinsky.

“Oh, I can guess, and I think it has something to do with skin color,” Jashinsky replied.

The podcast host read an intimate scene from Hostin’s third novel, Summer on Highland Beach, bursting into laughter as the passage became more explicit.

After the reading finally ended, Jashinsky said, “I’m so glad that’s over.”

Kelly was especially baffled by a line in which a character declared, “I miss your smile.”

“Whose s--- action talk is, ‘I miss your smile?’” the former Fox News host exclaimed. “That is not how it’s done!”

Jashinsky also mocked the excerpt, joking that Hostin was an “expert” at supplying provocative material to liberal viewers.

Hostin’s trilogy also includes Summer on the Bluffs and Summer on Sag Harbor. Under her Fountain 0 agreement, she licensed her name, books and likeness, meaning a digitally generated version of the TV personality could potentially appear in the adaptations.

Hostin has maintained that AI offers a way to bring diverse stories to audiences after years of unsuccessfully pursuing a conventional Hollywood deal. She said the technology could serve as a “proof of concept” for creators before they approach streaming services.