MEGYN’S TODAY CO-STARS FORCED TO BAIL HER OUT
Life&style EXCLUS IVE As Megyn Kelly Today continues to struggle, NBC sends its top talent in to try to save the show
Viewers who tuned in to Megyn Kelly Today on Oct. 16 were greeted by a familiar face: Matt Lauer. The veteran Today anchor, 59, bantered with Megyn about emojis and how she had a chunk of chocolate scone in her teeth the first time they met. Later, when she asked him, “Have you ever been attacked by a wild cougar?” he looked incred- ulous and replied, “Have I ever been attacked by a wild…? No!”
It was, in a word, awkward. But viewers will be seeing a lot more of Matt during the 9 o’clock hour. Life & Style has exclusively learned that the entire Today team is being pressured to make appearances to save Megyn’s sinking show as she struggles to appeal to a morning audience. One show executive “has been hearing complaints from Matt, Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker because of their ongoing appearances on Megyn’s show,” reveals an insider. “But they have no choice but to do it.”
NUMBERS NIGHTMARE
Megyn, 46, who scored a reported $23M payday when she left Fox News for NBC in January, is the net- work’s highest-profile hire in years. But with its stilted interviews, Megyn Kelly Today has been plagued by harsh reviews and ( like her summer show, Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly) plummeting ratings. She went from an average 2.5 million viewers her first full week (and 2.932 million her first day) to just 2.258 million her third week. Her show was also
down 32 percent compared to Today’s third hour a year ago, and it’s been blamed for pushing Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb’s fourth-hour Today ratings down 26 percent due to its poor lead-in.
None of the stars are happy — especially because they’re now being forced to bail out their new co-worker. Though multiple sources have told Life & Style that
Megyn and Matt have been clashing behind the scenes for months, Today’s execs have indicated they plan to put Matt on Megyn’s show on a frequent basis,” says the insider. “It’s bad enough that Megyn’s ratings are bringing down the entire brand, but having to go on her show and sit there as Megyn just basically flails is insulting.”
Al is particularly an-
noyed. Last winter, he and Tamron Hall learned they were being pushed out of hosting their solidly rated third hour, Today’s Take, to make room for Megyn. Tamron even quit over the slight. But now a higherup at NBC News “wants Al to be Megyn’s permanent contributor,” says the insider. “He’s basically being asked to go back to his old job, and Al is balking.”
Megyn’s co-stars aren’t the only ones who are upset about their guest gigs. “Megyn hates relying on her colleagues for help,” notes the insider. “It makes her look as if she’s a failure.” But she needs all the help she can get. “No one knows what’s going to happen,” says the insider, “because the Today hosts can’t carry Megyn’s show forever.”