Megyn Kelly seems oddly concerned that the newly announced reboot of “Little House on the Prairie” is going to be too “woke” — and was veritably torched on social media by actor Melissa Gilbert, who starred in the original show for nearly a decade.
“Netflix, if you woke-ify ‘Little House on the Prairie’ I will make it my singular mission to absolutely ruin your project,” the former Fox News host posted Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, while linking to a Hollywood Reporter article announcing the reboot.
Gilbert famously starred in the original NBC show as Laura Ingalls, the real-life writer whose series of books about growing up in a family of American post-Civil War settlers was adapted for TV. She appeared in all nine seasons from 1974 to 1983 and three subsequent movies.
The actor, who landed a Golden Globe nod for her performance in the series in 1981, eviscerated Kelly’s post with ease.
“Apparently Megyn tweeted (I’m not on that platform) asking that Netflix not ‘woke-Ify’ their Little House remake,” she wrote Thursday on Instagram. “Ummm … watch the original again. TV doesn’t get too much more ‘woke’ than we did.”
“We tackled: racism, addiction, nativism, antisemitism, misogyny, rape, spousal abuse and every other ‘woke’ topic you can think of,” Gilbert continued, while urging Kelly in the caption: “Watch any episode on any streaming platform anywhere in the world.”
Gilbert’s post was flooded with supportive comments from lifelong fans and fellow entertainers, including “30 Rock” actor Cheyenne Jackson, “Family Guy” producer Gary Janetti and “Saturday Night Live” alum Rachel Dratch — who mocked Kelly’s presumable fear of inclusivity.
“To everyone in the comments worrying about drag queens in this new version, come on … and put your hands together for LEMON VERBENA!!!!” Dratch commented in reference to the lemon verbena perfume worn by “Little House” character Miss Beadle.
While modern audiences might dismiss the original drama as quaint, it respectfully tackled serious subjects including drug addiction, body shaming and the struggles of people with disabilities — and has seen an impressive resurgence on Peacock.
U.S. viewers watched more than 13 billion minutes of the show in 2024, per Nielsen.
Details surrounding the reboot remain sparse, but Netflix confirmed Wednesday that “Vampire Diaries” producer Rebecca Sonnenshine is shepherding the project — which will “offer a kaleidoscopic view of the struggles and triumphs of those who shaped the frontier.”
Sonnenshine said in a statement about the reboot Wednesday that she “fell deeply in love” with the books when she was 5 years old — and that “inspired me to become a writer and a filmmaker.”
A release date for the reboot has yet to be announced.