IT’S OFFICIAL
Kelly in exit talks with NBC after show axed
Megyn Kelly ruffled too many feathers at the peacock network.
Kelly’s show has officially been canceled amid negotiations with NBC about the host possibly leaving the network.
“Megyn Kelly Today is not returning,” a rep for NBC News said in a statement Friday. “Next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other TODAY co-anchors.”
The announcement comes hours after NBC News reported that Kelly had begun negotiations with the network about potentially leaving in the wake of her widely condemned comments about blackface.
“Conversations have already started about Megyn’s exit from the network,” a source told NBC News.
The recent controversy stems from Tuesday’s show, when Kelly, 47, questioned whether it’s racist to wear blackface as part of a Halloween costume.
Kelly returned to the air Wednesday morning to apologize for her remarks, but the network aired previously taped episodes on Thursday and Friday.
One insider told NBC News that it’s “extremely unlikely” that Kelly will remain there following the controversy and noted that Kelly’s reps are expected to meet with NBC honchos on Friday.
The “Today” show meanwhile, also covered Kelly’s potential exit during Friday’s broadcast and tweeted that the host was in talks with the network “about her imminent departure,” citing a source.
Kelly’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement to media Friday, “Megyn remains an employee of NBC News and discussions about next steps are continuing.”
Kelly joined NBC last year following a lengthy tenure at Fox and is widely reported to have received a massive $69 million contract over three years.
The host received tremendous criticism following her comments about blackface, which she made during a segment featuring panel discussion.
“What is racist?” Kelly asked during the episode. “Because truly you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was OK as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character.”
She apologized to her colleagues in an email later that day, then told viewers she was wrong during Wednesday’s opening segment.
“One of the great parts of sitting in this chair each day is getting to discuss different points of view,” Kelly said. “Sometimes I talk and sometimes. I listen and yesterday, I learned. I learned that given the history of blackface being used in awful ways by racists in this country it is not OK for that to be part of any costume, Halloween or otherwise.”
The host, whose program “Megyn Kelly Today” served as the third hour of NBC’s “Today” show coverage, replaced popular “Today” hosts Tamron Hall and Al Roker in that 9 a.m. timeslot when she started at the network last year. Her morning show debuted in September 2017.