A familiar face on Fox News
Megyn Kelly is coming home to Fox News Channel — at least for one night.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson said on his program Monday that Kelly would be his guest Wednesday night. It will be Kelly’s first TV interview since she departed NBC News in January.
Kelly became a major star as a member of the Fox News prime-time lineup. She jumped in 2017 to NBC, where she had a prime-time news magazine and a daily morning talk show, “Megyn Kelly Today.” Neither was a ratings success.
Kelly was pulled from the morning program after she made remarks questioning why the use of blackface was inappropriate.
NBC News quickly ended her show after a controversy ensued and eventually paid out the remaining $30 million she was owed in her contract.
Kelly’s appearance on Fox News — her first since she left the network in January 2017 — is bound to generate speculation that she is angling to return full time. But a Fox News representative said there were no plans to bring her on board.
“Megyn Kelly’s forthcoming guest appearance was coordinated weeks ago and is a one-time occurrence,” the representative said in a statement. “Any future programming changes we are considering do not involve her.”
There is room in the Fox News lineup, as longtime anchor Shepard Smith abruptly announced his departure from the network on Friday. The network is using substitute anchors in the 3 p.m. hour.
Kelly is appearing on Fox News at a time when President Trump has been highly critical of anchors and hosts on the channel who deliver anything that deviates from fawning coverage of his administration.
But no one received more heat from Trump than Kelly. She became a household name when she famously took on Trump with tough questions at the first 2016 Republican presidential debate in August 2015.
Trump attacked Kelly in interviews and on social media, which led to Fox having to provide security for her family.