Megyn Kelly’s much hyped turn at NBC News was worth a cumulative $69 million, but the good times are coming to an end for the former Fox News host. Following lackluster ratings for her TODAY hour and a week full of backlash over her Halloween-related blackface remarks, NBC confirmed on Thursday evening that talks had begun regarding Kelly’s impending exit from the network. On Friday afternoon, NBC officially confirmed that Kelly’s show is officially over while negotiations continue on her overall status at NBC:
“Megyn Kelly Today is not returning,” an NBC News spokesperson said. “Next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other TODAY co-anchors.”
Kelly is still in talks with NBC News about her future at the network, according to two people familiar with conversations who were not authorized to speak publicly. Sources earlier in the week said that Kelly was likely to leave the company.
Some of the buzz around these negotiations has involved Kelly’s lead litigator wanting Ronan Farrow on hand for Friday’s meetings, but Farrow stated that he had no knowledge of and wasn’t involved with these discussions. This is an interesting twist, considering that Farrow could have wanted to stick it to NBC after they reportedly impeded his Weinstein coverage, but he’s apparently not interested in taking that route. As for Kelly (according to Page Six), she has been accused by NBC insiders of “milking” the #MeToo movement for her own purposes while, allegedly, claiming to have knowledge of incidents relating to Matt Lauer when “[s]he’s not close to anyone here.”
So, it seems that Kelly may soon be altogether over at NBC after colleagues, including TODAY‘s Al Roker and Nightly News‘ Lester Holt, condemned her blackface stance, although thtere’s a chance that the network might move her to nightly and/or political coverage. Certainly, her NBC tenure hasn’t been smooth. She also recently ended her representation with talent agency CAA, right before her history of unfortunate racial remarks (including her Black Santa outrage) surfaced in the present. Perhaps her deflated Sunday night news magazine, in which she banked on Alex Jones to stir up controversy-loaded ratings, should have been seen as a harbinger of more air-time doom to come.
(Via NBC News)
