Why Melissa Gilbert Used Her ‘Little House’ Experience to Call Out Megyn Kelly

Melissa Gilbert, forever known to millions as Laura Ingalls from “Little House on the Prairie,” has stepped forward to challenge recent comments made by media personality Megyn Kelly. The controversy began after Kelly made a distinction between the ages of girls pursued by the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a statement that prompted Gilbert to share a deeply personal story from her own past as a child actor.

The former Screen Actors Guild president used her own experience of being 15 years old in the Hollywood spotlight to illustrate the vulnerability of teenagers. It was a powerful, direct response.

Megyn Kelly’s Controversial Distinction

The issue originated from a November 12 episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show” on Sirius XM. While discussing the Epstein case, Kelly attempted to provide what she called “facts” about the disgraced financier’s preferences.

“[Epstein] liked 15-year-old girls. And I realize this is disgusting. I’m definitely not trying to make an excuse for this. I’m just giving you facts, that he wasn’t into, like, 8-year-olds,” Kelly stated on her program.

Kelly, who has a teenage daughter, continued by attempting to qualify the appearance of the victims. “But he liked the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were, but would look legal to a passerby,” she added. “There’s a difference between a 15-year-old and a 5-year-old, you know?” This very distinction is what ignited a firestorm of criticism and prompted Gilbert’s response.

A Child Star’s Powerful Rebuke

Inspired by social media hashtags like #iwasfifteen, Melissa Gilbert took to Instagram to share her perspective. She posted a photo of herself at that exact age and detailed the unsettling reality she faced, even in what was considered a safe environment.

“So, I debated posting this but, I feel compelled to share… I decided to google search myself at that age and see what came up. And this is some of what I found … and now, at this age, at this time, I am actually nauseated,” Gilbert wrote.

She connected the image of a young girl on a family vacation to her professional obligations on set. The contrast was stark. Gilbert explained how she was expected to portray a romantic storyline with a much older actor, a situation she now finds shocking through a modern lens.

“The girl on vacation in Hawaii with her family, is the same girl who was expected to ‘fall in love with’ and kiss a man on film who was several years older than she was. Through the lens of today, this is shocking. I have no words other than to say, ‘I WAS A CHILD.’ ‘I WAS FIFTEEN.’”

Gilbert acknowledged she was fortunate to have protectors like her mother and “Little House” creator Michael Landon looking out for her safety. But she finished her post with a direct warning to Kelly, underscoring the danger of minimizing the experience of any minor. “Many other young women aren’t. @megynkelly you need to be careful with your words,” she concluded.

A Co-Star Reflects on an Uncomfortable Past

The man Gilbert was referring to was her co-star, Dean Butler, who played her character’s eventual husband, Almanzo Wilder. When their on-screen romance began, Gilbert was 15 and Butler was 23. The significant age gap was not just a point of reflection for Gilbert; Butler himself has expressed his own discomfort with the situation.

Speaking to People magazine in 2024, Butler admitted the age difference created an awkward dynamic on set. “I think that there was anxiety on both sides of that kiss and how is this going to go? But we stepped up to it,” he recalled. His comments reveal a shared sense of unease about the storyline, even decades later.

“I’ve often said to Melissa, ‘I wish we could have been a little closer in age when we were doing this.’ But that’s not the way it really happened,” Butler said. “Laura was 10 years younger than Almanzo. But from the perspective of playing it, I thought, wouldn’t it be great if we could have [had] … a little more common ground, so we would’ve been able to play the loving side of this in perhaps a little bit more interesting way.”

Gilbert’s powerful testimony, backed by the reflections of her former co-star, serves as a crucial reminder. Her experience highlights that the perception of maturity in a 15-year-old does not change the fundamental fact of their childhood, a point she felt was lost in the public discourse.