On Monday, Kelly said on her show Fonda "has no business lecturing anyone on what qualifies as offensive."
A well-placed NBC source tells Fox News that NBC News executives knew in advance that Kelly planned to denounce Fonda but were powerless to stop her.
The "Today" host said Fonda had been invited on her show to "to promote a film about aging."
"For years [Fonda] has spoke about the joy of giving a cultural face to older women," Kelly said. "The truth is, most older women look nothing like Fonda, who is now 80. And if Fonda really wants to have an honest discussion about older women’s cultural face, then her plastic surgery is tough to ignore."
Kelly added Fonda has discussed her plastic surgeries "pretty much everywhere." She said she had no way of knowing "this subject was suddenly off limits."
Kelly then went after Fonda's spotted past, saying many American veterans still call Fonda "Hanoi Jane" because of her actions during the Vietnam War.
"I have no regrets about that question, nor am I in the market for a lesson from Jane Fonda on what is and is not appropriate. This is a woman whose name is synonymous with outrage. Look at her treatment of military during the Vietnam War," she said. "She posed on an anti-aircraft gun used to shoot down our American pilots. She called our P.O.W.s hypocrites and liars and referred to their torture as 'understandable.' Even she had to apologize years later for that gun picture. But not for the rest of it. By the way she says she is not proud of America."
While Kelly's comments to Fonda were met with cheers from her live audience, NBC staffers were dismayed that their management allowed Kelly to slam the actress
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