"This is the same guy who has threatened more than one journalist in the course of this campaign, has had some very ugly language attributed to him when it comes to women, and now he will be getting paid by Donald Trump one day and by CNN the next," Kelly noted.

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Trump fired Lewandowski on Monday, and reports emerged Thursday that CNN hired him as a political commentator. He made his debut on Thursday evening.

Kelly commented on the hiring during a segment with media critic Howard Kurtz, who said it was "sad" that CNN hired Lewandowski "12 minutes after he was fired" from Trump's presidential campaign.

"This is no knock on Corey, who I thought handled his firing with class," Kurtz said, noting Lewandowski is bound by a nondisclosure agreement and has only offered warm remarks about Trump since his firing.

The hiring is viewed as a coup for network executives but is controversial among journalists, given Lewandowski's tough tactics while interacting with reporters during the campaign.

Lewandowski was accused of assaulting a reporter in March, though authorities declined to pursue a battery charge. He also threatened to blacklist a CNN reporter in November who left a barricaded area for members of the media, The Washington Post reported

"Think about how the CNN reporter over there [feels], the one he threatened," Kelly said Thursday.

"I hope they don't bump into each other in the green room. That's gonna be awkward," she said. "It's really remarkable."