Megyn Kelly issued an apology on her show this week after defending the idea of a white person wearing blackface as part of a Halloween costume. Liberals never fully accepted Kelly based on her past work at FOX News. Now her future at NBC is looking bleak.
NBC ran a rerun of an episode this morning and a spokesperson said that her show “Megyn Kelly Today will be on tape the rest of the week.”
*UPDATE 12:33PM
The Daily Mail has reported that Megyn Kelly is out at NBC:
Multiple sources have confirmed to DailyMail.com that Megyn Kelly is out at NBC.This move comes just 48 hours after the embattled host made remarks in which she defended blackface on Today. Kelly tried to deal with the scandal by delivering a tearful apology on-air and welcoming two black panelists to discuss the fraught and horrifying history of the practice, but it did no good. ‘Megyn Kelly is done. She is not ever coming back,’ said an NBC executive with knowledge of the situation. ‘We are just working out timing of the announcement but mark my word – she is gone and will never be seen on NBC live again.’The source then added: ‘Here’s the worst part – her deal is a non-break deal – so she walks away with all that money. It’s disgusting and heads should roll here because of it.’A spokesperson for NBC declined to comment at this time. And it looks like Kelly could be heading for a homecoming of sorts.A network news insider tells DailyMail.com that there are tentative conversations underway about Kelly returning to Fox News, whose viewers despise what they perceive as ‘political correctness’ and would likely welcome her back with open arms.
*UPDATE 9:48AM ET
Megyn Kelly did not appear on her show Megyn Kelly Today as the network used a rerun and will do so the rest of the week. From Deadline:
Megyn Kelly did not appear on her 9 AM iteration of Today and don’t look for her tomorrow, as she seeks to return to her harder news roots, after driving another nail into the coffin that is her morning show career this week defending blackface Halloween costumes.“Given the circumstances, Megyn Kelly Today will be on tape the rest of the week,” a spokesperson told Deadline.Today, NBC News instead repeated an edition of her show that focused on sleep deprivation.
The Hollywood Reporter said that Kelly’s agency “CAA is no longer working with” her and did not give a reason why. Kelly “has also hired a top Hollywood litigator.” The report continued:
To replace CAA, UTA co-president Jay Sures had been in talks to sign Kelly and had been courting her before Tuesday’s blackface backlash, in which Kelly said on her 9 a.m. show that she didn’t understand why people couldn’t wear blackface on Halloween. Sures is said to have backed out of representing Kelly on Wednesday amid the controversy. A source close to the situation says Sures’ decision came after he made at least one call to NBC News president Noah Oppenheim and had set a meeting with NBC for Friday on Kelly’s behalf.Then later on Wednesday, Kelly hired attorney Bryan Freedman, one of Hollywood’s top talent-side litigators. The move is a sign that she is gearing up for a fight with NBC that could lead to her exit. She will not appear on the Thursday or Friday episodes of her show, according to sources.
*From earlier:
Shawn Langlois of Marketwatch has the backstory:
Megyn Kelly: What’s so wrong with dressing up in blackface on Halloween?That’s NBC host Megyn Kelly suggesting during her show on Tuesday perhaps we’ve become too sensitive when it comes to race.Kelly, who emerged as a major force in the “Santa is white” movement, pondered the loaded ‘what is racist?’ topic with her all-white panel of Melissa Rivers, Jenna Bush Hager and Jacob Soboroff.The trio didn’t exactly offer much pushback, but, to their credit, they were hesitant to agree with Kelly when she brought up how a member of “The Real Housewives of New York” cast used dark makeup to dress as Diana Ross and later had to apologize for it.“People said that was racist and I don’t know, I felt like, who doesn’t love Diana Ross?” Kelly said. “She wanted to look like Diana Ross for one day. I don’t know how that got racist on Halloween.”
This short video report from Good Morning America includes the offending clip and the apology Kelly issued on her show a day later:
Her show’s official Twitter feed also released the apology:
According to Chris Spargo of the Daily Mail, some members of Kelly’s team are already looking for an escape hatch:
EXCLUSIVE: Megyn Kelly’s team is calling rival networks hoping to find the embattled Today host a new home following her blackface scandal – just one year into her $69 million contractMegyn Kelly appears to be on the hunt for a new place of employment.Multiple sources at multiple networks tell DailyMail.com that members of Kelly’s team have been in contact about finding a new home for the Today host.Those networks are not biting though, with one executive at ABC saying: ‘We wouldn’t hire her in a million years. She’s toxic and her personal brand is finished.’…At the same, an NBC executive tells DailyMail.com that Kelly will not be missed if she does decide to jump ship.’That hour used to be a ratings hit with Al Roker and Tamron Hall and it was relatively inexpensive to produce,’ said the executive.’Now viewers get to witness the greatest example of white privilege on television. She defended blackface. I mean how is this acceptable in any way? She needs to go.’
Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter has more:
Megyn Kelly Expected to End NBC Morning ShowMegyn Kelly is expected to wind down her 9 a.m. Today show hour by the end of the season, a source close to the situation tells The Hollywood Reporter.Sources tell THR that Kelly has met with network executives in recent weeks to discuss the future of the show and expressed a desire to cover more news and politics. It’s unclear what NBC News would put in place of Kelly’s show. But the discussions are at least an acknowledgement that the experiment is not working and that Kelly would prefer to be covering more news as she did with the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.Kelly has grappled with hard-news topics, including the #MeToo allegations against a series of powerful men. But her show is in a typically soft daypart, and she has often seemed to chafe at the lighter requirements of the job.
Finally, the Daily Beast is reporting that the network has turned on her:
NBC News Declares War on Megyn Kelly After Blackface FuryMegyn Kelly is under siege at 30 Rock.Her comments about wearing blackface for Halloween have been denounced by her colleagues on air. And now the man who lured her to NBC News with a $69 million deal has slammed her to company employees amid new reports Wednesday evening that her daily daytime show is likely to end soon.“There is no other way to put this, but I condemn those remarks,” NBC News Chairman Andy Lack said at a town hall meeting on Wednesday, according to a transcript provided to The Daily Beast by a source.“There is no place on our air or in this workplace for them. Very unfortunate.”
Just two years ago, Kelly had the top rated prime time show on FOX News. Now it looks she could soon be out of a job at NBC. Where could she possibly go next?
Featured image via YouTube.
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