Megyn Kelly on the Totalitarian Absurdity of the Cornell 7 “Rape” Case
In a Nutshell
Megyn Kelly argues that the Cornell 7 case is not rape under New York law because Jane Doe was conscious, made specific choices throughout the encounter, and voluntarily consumed alcohol and ketamine—none of which constitutes incapacity to consent. The prosecutor reviewed her own detailed statement and declined charges, but Letitia James reopened the case for political reasons while Cornell expelled two defendants through Title IX proceedings. Kelly contends the case exemplifies how anonymous accusations, victim culture, and legal changes that equate any intoxication with rape create a system where men face 20-year sentences based on post-hoc regret rather than non-consensual acts.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Four men at Cornell University in the fraternity "Chai Fei" hosted a woman known as "Jane Doe" between October 19 and 20, 2024. The men involved were Matt Engels, John Noel, Julio Lopez, and Winston Lee. Matt Engels, who was friends with Jane Doe, invited her to the fraternity where they danced for 3 to 5 minutes before he asked about having a threesome. She agreed, and John Noel was invited to participate.
The three went upstairs to attempt group sex, but Matt Engels kept losing consciousness and was unaware of what was happening. Jane Doe later claimed in her civil suit that she had drunk 10 glasses before arriving, though the men dispute this. A phone recording exists where she attempted to push him to say something incriminating, and he responded that she had told him she was "vigilant."
The threesome with Matt Engels was unsuccessful due to his unconsciousness, but Jane Doe had sexual relations with John Noel. A third man, Julio Lopez, then entered the room and also had sex with Jane Doe. All men maintain that everything was entirely consensual.
When the fourth man, Winston Lee, entered the room, he specifically said: "We don't have to do any of this, Jane." She replied, "We are all consenting adults." Julio Lopez had sex with her and left, followed by a group of men who entered. One or two of them may have inhaled ketamine from her naked body with her permission.
Jane Doe claims she obtained ketamine from Matt and John during the first break. During the second break between John Noel, Jane Doe, and Julio Lopez, she claims John Noel asked her to inhale ketamine from his erect penis, which she did because she had already done it once that night.
Winston Lee, an Asian student at Cornell, was dragged into the room and claims Jane Doe proposed sex to him. He says he initially thought he was only going to sniff ketamine from her body, but she suggested they have sex. She had sex with him, then Matt Engels regained consciousness and joined for a third act.
When Jane Doe said she was tired and wanted to go to sleep, the men stopped and Matt Engels drove her home to her roommates at the Trident house.
Cornell University is part of the Ivy League. Jane Doe is from the deep South, is red-haired, and has a full build. She is described as not fat but a little plump. Several of the young men were on the rugby team.
Matt Engels is from Dubai and is Muslim. John Noel is Black or mixed race with Afro hair. Julio Lopez is Portuguese. Winston Lee is Asian. Jane Doe is white from a Southern family, making all the young men minority group members.
In the days following, there were text messages confirming the encounter was consensual. Jane Doe returned to her sorority house and told her "big sister" there was a rumor going around that she was a "[ __ ]," then laughed. She messaged the men saying: "I really enjoyed my time with you, John and Matt, and ultimately, nothing we did was illegal, none of it was illegal."
She also told Matt Engels that "everyone needs to grow up because concepts of sexuality and sex practice are changing, and things like this will become more common. I am also very open-minded," and wrote to him "I love you, King."
The incident occurred October 19-20, 2024. Kai Fei's annual Halloween party occurred afterward, and Jane Doe was reportedly "very excited" to attend with the men she would later claim gang-raped her. When rumors spread about a gang rape, she forwarded messages to Matt Engels with question marks, and he replied it was "outrageous" and would report the people spreading it.
When rumors also circulated that she was a "[ __ ]," she told Engels her "reputation is ruined. I am so ashamed." The fraternity president ultimately cancelled her invitation to the Halloween party.
After her invitation was cancelled, Jane Doe wrote to Matt Engels that she knew "it is always women who are subjected to injustice." From the morning of October 20 until October 31 when she officially declared herself a victim, her roommates and friends allegedly incited her to see the encounter as rape rather than consensual.
She underwent a rape examination weeks later, which would not yield significant evidence. She reported the incident to Cornell University police, where she attempted to record phone calls with three of the men saying "I don't remember anything and 90% of this was not consensual" - a complete shift from her earlier statements.
The Cornell police interview resulted in a six-page single-spaced printed statement that Jane Doe reviewed and signed under penalty of perjury. She wrote more than 20 handwritten notes on the sides and had three victims' rights advocates present throughout the process.
The statement essentially exonerated the men. The campus police officer brought the statement to the local district attorney in Ithaca, New York (Tompkins County), a Democrat, who reviewed it and concluded based on Jane Doe's own words that no crime had been committed.
New York State law states that if someone becomes intoxicated voluntarily - meaning they chose to drink or use drugs without being secretly drugged - they cannot claim they were raped because they were unable to consent. The only way to claim inability to consent due to drugs or alcohol is if someone else slipped substances surreptitiously without their knowledge.
The exception is if someone reaches a stage called "physical incapacity," meaning they become unconscious and unable to communicate. New York does not recognize a crime if someone drank until dizzy or heavily under the influence but not fully unconscious.
According to Jane Doe's six-page statement, she and Matt Engels danced, and he asked how she felt about having a threesome. She "agreed" due to "how much she liked Engels as well as her 'sugar-induced curiosity'" - the words she used. She also "remembered" being excited because she thought the threesome meant they were gay.
She described dealing with two completely drunk men, with John Noel suffering from bouts of dry nausea. She was not unconscious and did not experience nausea herself. During the second threesome, she pushed John Noel's hand away when he tried to touch her genital area, saying "No, I don't want that," and he complied.
When Matt Engels woke up and asked if he could turn the encounter into a foursome, she refused because she "knew that would mean I would have to have anal sex" and didn't want that. She was in control of the situation.
Regarding the men who inhaled ketamine from her body, she had taken ketamine at least once or twice with them and said she inhaled it from the man's penis because "I've done it once before, so I'll do it again."
During the third encounter with Matt Engels and Winston Lee, she remembered Matt saying "Let's take more ketamine" and inhaling more. She described feeling "extremely euphoric" and remembers Matt wanting to have sex again to make up for his earlier loss of consciousness. She initially stated she was tired and asked Matt, "What happened to just you and me?"
Jane Doe described her level of intoxication as eight out of ten during the third threesome. She remembered how the sex occurred, with whom, and where. She described oral and vaginal sex with Matt Engels and Winston Lee. The threesome continued until around 5:45 AM when she was tired and needed to sleep, at which point both men stopped.
The prosecutor determined this was not a case of physical incapacity, as Jane Doe was in control of her affairs, saying yes to some things and no to others. Even though she voluntarily drank 10 glasses of beer and took ketamine of her own free will, this did not constitute involuntary intoxication under New York law.
No criminal charges were filed. However, Jane Doe's lawyer filed a civil lawsuit initially through the university's Title IX process, which expelled Matt Engels and John Noel but not Jane Doe, despite the argument that if she was too drunk to consent, so were they.
The civil lawsuit now involves seven men - the "Cornell Seven" - with four accused of being gang rapists and two others accused of inhaling ketamine from her body with her consent. The lawsuit references Snapchat messages from a fraternity group chat with 57 participants, though most were likely asleep between 1:40 and 5:40 AM.
Messages included John Noel writing "Free the P" and Matt Engels writing "You can just go in and take your member out." Someone posted her picture with comments like "Hey guys, come on out and get your organs out" and "Is the store still open?" The messages do not suggest she was drunk or incapacitated.
Only four people actually had sex with Jane Doe. Her name remains undisclosed while all seven men's names are known. Letitia James intervened and reopened the criminal investigation, taking the case away from the Ithaca District Attorney. Jane Doe is seeking financial compensation through civil litigation and the men face potential 20-year prison sentences if criminal charges proceed.
The standard journalistic practice when a story is unresolved is to withhold names of both the accused and accuser until facts are established. In this case, media outlets name only the accused while keeping the accuser anonymous, creating an inherent imbalance. This deviates from justice principles because defendants have the right to confront their accusers, and prosecutors should bring charges publicly rather than in closed sessions.
The law permits victims of rape or alleged sexual assault to file lawsuits in civil court or come forward as anonymous plaintiffs. This is the only crime allowing such measures. While children must remain anonymous, adult men who are victims of robbery or assault do not receive confidentiality when seeking financial compensation. Megyn Kelly experienced this personally as a university student working as a pizza delivery driver, when two men threatened her with a weapon and she felt too ashamed to file a police report.
Treating women as if rape is inherently shameful perpetuates the problem. Advocates claim victims won't come forward without anonymity, but this messaging itself tells victims they should feel ashamed. The proper approach is requiring identity disclosure in court proceedings, with the understanding that real victims face no shame. No presumption of innocence or victimhood should be granted at this stage, as freedom and life are at stake.
Media organizations are not legally required to follow court anonymity policies - they participate as a courtesy. This practice sets women back by reinforcing patriarchal protection of "weak and vulnerable women" rather than treating them as equals. Michael Tracy, an online provocateur, published the accuser's name but later retracted due to backlash. The media should collectively decide to reveal names because it's the right approach.
The accuser and her lawyer named the seven defendants in the civil suit rather than using numbers or nicknames, demonstrating full awareness of consequences. Initially, some media referred to defendants as "mention number one" and "mention number two," but positive facts about the defendants should also be attributed to their names. Julio Lopez was one defendant who returned to the scene and tried to stop the events.
After Snapchat messages surfaced, the Ithaca District Attorney initially planned to take the case to a grand jury but faced pressure. Letitia James publicly stated on X and Facebook: "I stand with the survivors, including Jane Doe." This violates prosecutorial duty to pursue justice impartially regardless of outcome. The case involves Crystal Mangum, who fabricated claims of inappropriate behavior.
At least one defendant appears to be Black or mixed race, which aligns with Letitia James's language. The defendants' minority status works in their favor in certain political circles. Andrew Cuomo attempted in 2000 to change New York law to allow any drunk person to claim rape victim status, but the New York State Assembly rejected this. The Senate passed his change, creating a loose law covering any man with a relationship to a drunk woman.
Following this case, New York lawmakers want to change the law to claim lack of consent if intoxicated, calling current standards a "loophole." This is deliberate policy designed to enable such claims. If passed, no sane family could allow their son to attend university in New York between ages 18-22, except for priesthood where sexual contact is prohibited.
The case reflects broader hatred of men, especially strong men, which defines American society more than racial or religious hatred. This hatred contributed to Trump's presidency. Women who feel angry toward men may have had bad experiences, and vulgar behavior brings out the worst in men. Modern feminism has told generations of young women that acting like reckless, testosterone-fueled young males is empowering and will make them equal.
The "Call Her Daddy" podcast, the fourth largest in America, encourages women to have anal sex on first dates. Women who follow this path often wake up feeling disgusted with themselves, feeling they have abused their bodies. Bridget Vettezi, former Playboy writer, has written extensively about regretting promiscuous behavior and urges rejection of such conduct.
The absence of religion contributes to these problems, as society moves away from principles like not having sex before marriage or at least being in love. Without religious anchors, people lack moral basis for understanding right and wrong. The feminist wave demands patriarchal protection through anonymous complaints while claiming equality, creating contradictory standards.
Men are told not to be paternalistic, not to open doors for women, not to comment on appearance - all considered sexist. The one non-sexist approach is treating women like men with free will and full responsibility. This created the toxic mix in the Kai Phi room that evening, where men didn't intervene because they were raised in a system that discouraged paternalistic behavior.
Cornell has created an environment where students famously commit suicide by throwing themselves into valleys. The university receives federal funding while overseeing this environment. Cornell passed the "diversity test" with four minority defendants among the accused. The school focuses on diversity-based acceptances above all other standards.
Admission to Cornell or top colleges requires destroying the first 17 years of life studying mostly useless subjects, playing games in applications to appreciate things leftists value. At Princeton, there is literally not a single conservative, Republican, or right-leaning independent professor. Students arrive agitated, anxious, and depressed, making ketamine seem appealing.
Federal taxpayers support Cornell, which would collapse without tax money. The American obsession with Ivy League brands actually turns students into communists and distances them from parents. In Europe, students complete studies, enroll in university for specific majors, get degrees, and find jobs without this brand obsession.
Claims of 35% rape rate at Cornell are lies. Surveys ask if students were "raped or sexually assaulted" during their time at Cornell, then define rape or sexual assault as any "unwanted touching" of any kind. Megyn Kelly experienced unwanted touching regularly while working as a waitress at Syracuse but never considered herself a victim in a busy bar environment.
As Heather MacDonald pointed out in Detroit not too long ago, the overall crime rate, including murders and robberies, was 2.4%. Are you trying to tell me that Cornell University has a rape rate of 35%? I don't think so. We are simply raising a generation of people who want to be victims.
Our leadership class, including in the media, focuses a lot on Cornell because that represents the core of their world. Like "Cornell," I was accepted to Cornell. I am now in the Ivy League. And you know, they entered the College of Agriculture or whatever it is. But people are being raped on subway platforms, in parks, and in the outer suburbs, and I don't think Letitia James or Cathy Hookall care at all.
That's right, absolutely. So I don't think there's a special prosecutor for the latest subway platform rape case in the Bronx by any means. Talk to some of the lawyers who have represented some of Harvey Weinstein's alleged victims about their experience with Letitia James's firm and with her personally. I know many of these lawyers. They have nothing but negative things to say about Tish James.
She will only do what she believes will enhance her career, and she doesn't care at all about any of these alleged victims. Will you be merely a stepping stone on her path to becoming governor, or not? Kathy Hookall is too stupid to be attributed with truly bad motives.
For three years, the woman walked around with a gold necklace that said "inoculated" in very large letters. It was as if she was a member of the "Bloods" gang. Well, it was. You are absolutely right. In my 35 years in the news industry, I have never met someone who can summarize and analyze a news story as instantly as you. I just think that... and I'm grateful that you did that because now I feel like I really understand what happened in that story. So, thank you very much. Megyn Kelly. You're welcome. It's great to see you. It's great to see you too. Thanks.
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