Melissa Gilbert Scolds Megyn Kelly Over Jeffrey Epstein Remarks: ‘You Need to Be Careful With Your Words’

Melissa Gilbert didn’t hold back when it came to Megyn Kelly’s recent comments regarding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

During the November 12 episode of The Megyn Kelly Show, Kelly, 54, claimed that the late Epstein was “into the barely legal type.”

“He liked 15-year-old girls. And I realize this is disgusting,” Kelly continued. “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.”

“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 explained. “There’s a difference between a 15-year-old and a 5-year-old, you know?”

Her comments quickly sparked outrage online with women sharing photos of themselves at 15 years old alongside the hashtag #iWasFifteen to make the point that the age is still very childlike.

Gilbert, 61, participated by sharing a set of photos of herself at that age during her time on Little House on the Prairie.

“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 alongside the carousel of pictures shared via Instagram on Sunday, November 16. “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.”

Gilbert starred as Laura Ingalls in the popular TV show who dated Almanzo Wilder, played by Dean Butler. Gilbert was only 15 at the time, and Butler was eight years her senior.

“Through the lens of today, this is shocking,” she continued. “I have no words other than to say, ‘I WAS A CHILD.’ ‘I WAS FIFTEEN.’”

Gilbert added that she was grateful to her mom and costar Michael Landon “and so many others were there to make sure I was safe.”

“I am so fortunate (Sort of),” she wrote in conclusion. “Many other young women aren’t. @megynkelly you need to be careful with your words.”