(Image source: Know Your Meme)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly could soon be eating her words. On Monday, she appeared on The O’Reilly Factor to discuss the way police pepper sprayed protesters at UC Davis. And one of her comments went viral.

O’Reilly: “First of all, pepper spray -- that just burns your eyes, right?”
Kelly: “Right, I mean, it’s like a derivative of actual pepper. It’s a food product, essentially.”

Critics say the clip shows Kelly playing down the effects of pepper spray. Her comment spawned a meme and a hashtag, #megynkellyessentially.

CNN rounds up a couple gems.

Moos: “She was mocked: ‘Megyn Kelly on the electric chair: “It’s a massage chair, essentially!”’ ‘Megyn Kelly on mustard gas: “It’s a hot dog condiment, essentially!”’”

Funny or Die got in on the action with a video depicting Kelly’s Thanksgiving dinner preparations.

“Once your turkey is baked to a perfect golden brown, I like to add my own personal touch: pepper spray. Don’t worry, it’s basically a food product. Come on, just season to taste! Don’t be a baby!”

A petition on Change.org calls for Kelly to put her peppers where her mouth is. More than 37,000 signatures call for Kelly to dine on pepper spray -- on air.

“To back up your claim that pepper spray is a food product, please consume as much of it as was sprayed on each protestor's face, in one sitting, on camera at Fox News. You may mix the spray with one serving of food or drink, as I am not a sadist. Then, please relate the effects to your audience.”

But do Kelly’s comments really merit the mockery? A blogger for the LA Times says, watch the whole segment before making up your mind.

“Did anyone actually watch this clip? If you stick around for the end of the four-minute segment, there are times when Kelly seems to be arguing with O'Reilly on behalf of the Occupy folks.”

Kelly explained her comments to TVNewser, saying -- she was just stating a fact.

“[O'Reilly] wanted me to tell him what is in pepper spray, so I told him what the active ingredient is. That’s all I meant to convey… not that I meant it’s a snack! ... In no way did I mean to diminish what was happening.”

For the record, pepper spray is made from capsaicin, the same chemical that gives habenero peppers their heat.