Fox News host Megyn Kelly insisted Friday that her earlier comment that Santa Claus was “just white,” which invited significant backlash, had been a joke — and that her critics were just looking for an excuse to call her a racist.

“In kicking off the light-hearted segment, I offered a tongue-in-cheek message for any kids watching, saying that Santa — who I joked was a real person whose race was identifiable — is white,” Kelly said. “Humor is a part of what we try to bring to this show, but sometimes, that is lost on the humorless.”

She then lambasted her critics for failing to get the joke.

“This would be funny if it were not so telling about our society,” she continued. “In particular, the knee-jerk instinct by so many to race-bait and to assume the worst of people, especially people employed by the very powerful Fox News Channel.”

The full video is below.