Kimberly Guilfoyle Once Admitted Something No Other Trump Family Member Dares To Say

The following article includes allegations of sexual assault.

One can't think of Kimberly Guilfoyle without instantly thinking of the Trump family, but Guilfoyle faced her fair share of controversy long before she ever became involved with Donald Trump Jr. Way back in 2014, the former Fox News host made headlines for all the wrong reasons when she insinuated that young women shouldn't vote. Guilfoyle was still part of the network's hit show "The Five" back then, and her controversial statement came after co-host Greg Gutfeld asserted that people become more conservative as they age. 

"When you're young like that, you think — same reason why young women on juries are not a good idea, they don't get it," Guilfoyle responded (via The Hollywood Reporter). "They're not in that same life experience of paying the bills, doing the mortgage, kids, community, crime, education, healthcare. They're like healthy and hot and running around without a care in the world." Their other co-host, Bob Beckel, clapped back, pointing out that young women have the right to serve on juries, leading Guilfoyle to backpedal.

"I didn't say they shouldn't be," she clarified. "I just thank and excuse them so they can go back on Tinder and Match.com." Young women across the country quickly expressed their displeasure with the commentator's take, with HuffPost contributor and Washington University student Jaime Zucker even disclosing that she felt let down by Guilfoyle's utter carelessness, proclaiming, "It was as if, in discouraging young women from voting, she had betrayed some sisterhood of American women that should transcend party politics."

After the media tempest that erupted following her appalling comments, Kimberley Guilfoyle tried to remedy the situation during a follow-up segment. Former White House press secretary Dana Perino broached the subject, trying to clean up some of the carnage in the process. Fortunately, Guilfoyle took the hint, reasoning, "I said I want to 'thank and excuse' someone from jury service. That is the language you use in the courtroom. If they want to go back and do social media or dating websites, fine." She continued, "I take the right to vote very seriously. I take the right to serve on a jury very seriously. And I think you should be informed when you do both things," (via Salon). But the damage was done.

Then, during a subsequent interview with Elle, something shocking happened: The outspoken former prosecutor acknowledged that she was wrong. "Come on, young women should vote, I am a huge supporter. I take this very seriously," Guilfoyle reiterated, adding, "I don't always think I am right, not by a long shot." In this moment, the former Fox News host did what no other member of the Trump family has ever done — she took ownership of a mistake, or even simply a moment when she might have misspoken. Guilfoyle was raised in a family of strong women to always speak her mind, sharing simply, "[My mother] and my father believed that anything a man could do, a woman could do better."

Kimberley Guilfoyle's eventual exit from Fox News in 2018 was mired in controversy. Guilfoyle was plagued by misconduct allegations during her time with the network, and there were even whispers that they involved sexual harassment. The rumors were apparently confirmed when emails from Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch made their way into the public sphere. In one, he even "insisted we fire [Guilfoyle] for inappropriate behavior" (via Business Insider). The issue was first brought to authorities' attention after the former host's assistant spoke up. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik discussed the allegations with radio host Tanya Mosley in 2020, two years after Guilfoyle's inappropriate behavior initially came to light. 

"[Guilfoyle] apparently subjected her to deeply unprofessional things — forcing her to see her naked, forcing her to see pornographic material, forcing her to see pictures of the male anatomy of various men that she knew," Folkenflik detailed. He also noted that Guilfoyle had denied all of these accusations, as well as additional claims that she tried to pay off her secretary to keep her quiet. Fox News ended up shelling out $4 million to the assistant in a settlement. Despite it being quite a while ago and the staunch Trump supporter continuing to deny everything to this day, these kinds of allegations tend to stick — something Guilfoyle's future father-in-law can surely attest to.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).