‘I stand by it’: ‘Conclave’ screenwriter claps back at Megyn Kelly’s ‘anti-Catholic’ accusation after Golden Globe win

The writer spoke to Variety after his win, and while he didn’t check Kelly’s rant first-hand, he had a lot to say about how Conclave depicts Catholicism, as well as his own relationship with religion. During her rant, Kelly called the award-winning movie “disgusting” and “anti-Catholic,” to which Straughan fired back:

“I don’t think the film is anti-Catholic. I was brought up Catholic. I was an altar boy. I think the core message of ‘Conclave’ is about the church always having to re-find its spiritual core, because it deals so much with power. That’s always been a careful, difficult balance. To me, that was a very central Catholic ideal that I was brought up with. I stand by it.”

General audiences and critics also don’t seem to have a problem with Conclave. The movie became a surprise hit in theaters in late 2024, and had its release date moved up once distrubutors realized that it could be a strong Oscar contender. Sure enough, Conclave is dominating the awards season along with blockbusters like Wicked and Dune: Part 2. But this also means that the movie’s popularity will put it on the radar of people who otherwise wouldn’t even consider watching it.

Conclave stars Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter franchise) as a cardinal who, after the Pope’s death, starts to uncover a conspiracy helmed by other cardinals as to who will succeed the deceased in one of the most powerful positions in the world. The cast also features John Lithgow (The Old Man), Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada) and Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet). The thriller was directed by previous Oscar nominee Edward Berger (All Quiet On The Western Front), and Straughan adapted the story from a best-selling novel by author Robert Harris.

In her viral rant, Megyn Kelly mentioned the cast and director by name, and stated it was a “shame” they made that movie. The biggest problem for her was [spoiler alert] the fact that it is revealed that the Pope was intersex, which infuriated the journalist. She wrote:

I wish I had known so I wouldn’t have watched it. There are almost no redeeming characters in the movie – every cardinal is morally bankrupt/repulsive. The only exception of course is the intersex pope (who – surprise! – has female reproductive parts) & the cardinal who keeps her secret – bc of course that kind of Catholic secret-keeping must be lionized. I’m disgusted. What a thing to release to streaming just in time for Christmas. They would never do this to Muslims, but Christians/Catholics are always fair game to mock/belittle/smear.”

Despite what Kelly stated, Muslims have been the target of Hollywood for decades, which frequently depicts Middle Easterners as terrorists or religious fanatics — or both. The change in how Muslim characters are represented is fairly recent, and it will still be a long while until the prejudice that movies helped construct is torn down.

Conclave currently holds a 93% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes. At the Golden Globes, it was also nominated in the Best Movie, Best Director and acting categories for Rossellini and Fiennes.