It didn’t take long, however, for real Kenyans to call her comments misleading and demand that the host and the network make a correction. Despite the backlash, however, Compagno isn’t backing down, citing an unsourced website to support her case. During a July 5 appearance on Fox News’ late-night “comedy” show Gutfeld!, Compagno took issue with celebrities who get bogged down in political issues and allegedly try to “cancel” the Fourth of July. She condemned those who complained that American women are losing their rights, noting that they pale in comparison to what women face in other countries. “The insularity of these celebrities is so gross to me! He is such a sailor. These comments are completely delusional,” fumed the Outnumbered co-host, adding: “Are we getting less voting rights? What about in Kenya where pregnant women can’t leave the house, so they have absolutely no constructive voting rights?’ As first pointed out by liberal watchdog Media Matters, Compagno’s remarks about Kenya quickly set social media and African news outlets on fire. “What is this? What is Emily Compagno saying? That in Kenya pregnant women can’t leave the house so they don’t have the right to vote? What does she think our country is like? This statement is false, misleading, condescending and will he must retire,” Kenyan political strategist General Pauline Njoroge tweeted. “Pregnant women in Kenya are allowed to leave the house. Pregnant women in Kenya can vote. Pregnant women have priority in the voting lines. Pregnant women give birth for free under the government’s #lindamama scheme. Retract your statement,” Esther M. Passaris, a female member of the Kenyan National Assembly, wrote to Compagno. As many Kenyans pointed out on social media, the African country’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has indeed extended voting access to pregnant women. Along with the elderly and disabled, women-to-be can avoid long queues and get straight to the front of the line. In addition to demanding a correction, many Kenyans urged Compagno and Fox News to apologize for the host’s “ignorant” and “insane” comments, which they felt had “smeared” their country. When reached to comment on the controversy, Compagno — through a Fox News spokesperson — stood by her comments and pointed to two websites where she found the claim that pregnant women in Kenya were supposedly barred from leaving their homes. That effectively limits their right to vote, so he uses the word “constructive” on Tuesday night. One website, Grazia Daily, wrote that in western Kenya, “women who are expecting children are forbidden by cultural authorities from appearing in public, which means that a huge portion of women cannot turn out to vote.” The other website, World Population Review, wrote: “Kenyan women are not allowed to take long walks (such as to the polls) and pregnant women are not allowed to leave the house. High disease rates and a history of election-related violence also keep women at home.” Neither site cites any official source to back up the claims.
