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Megyn Kelly Fired from NBC

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NBC has canceled Megyn Kelly’s morning show “Megyn Kelly Today,” announcing Friday the embattled anchor’s show will not return to air.

“‘Megyn Kelly Today’ is not returning. Next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other ‘Today’ co-anchors,” an NBC spokesperson said.

Kelly came under intense network criticism this week when she defended white people using “blackface” in Halloween costumes, calling opposition to it political correctness run amok. Her “Today” colleagues Al Roker and Craig Melvin ripped her the following morning on the air, NBC News chief Andy Lack said at a town hall that her remarks were indefensible, and Kelly wound up offering a tearful apology on her show Wednesday.

It wasn’t enough to rescue her or the program, however, as NBC News reported Friday morning she is negotiating her exit from the network.

Her attorney Bryan Freedman said Kelly is still an employee at NBC as of Friday, however.

“Megyn remains an employee of NBC News and discussions about next steps are continuing,” he said, according to Page Six.

Kelly signed a three-year deal with NBC worth a reported $69 million last year. While she earned a reputation as a hard-hitting political journalist at Fox News, she struggled to make the pivot to the more sunny side of morning television.

After getting off to a rocky start when her Sunday night newsmagazine last summer drew low viewership, her 9 a.m. hour of NBC’s valuable “Today” brand produced more than its share of awkward moments. Her ratings suffered, she stumbled in interactions with celebrities, and she was the subject of considerable mockery for one cringe-worthy segment where she danced with fellow NBC anchor Hoda Kotb.

Kelly, once a star at Fox News, had long nurtured ambitions of moving out of the conservative news bubble and into the top tier of mainstream broadcast personalities, with aspirations of becoming a mix of Oprah Winfrey and Charlie Rose, according to a Washington Post report.

She once said she wanted to “help people,” just as Oprah had. Her book title suggested she wanted to “settle for more.” She debuted her softer-edged NBC morning show “Megyn Kelly Today” by saying she was “kind of done with politics for now.”

But her rocky transition to morning news showed just how difficult it is to separate one’s identity from the Fox News brand.

Kelly has had no comment since Wednesday, when she appeared live on her show and apologized for the blackface comments.

Thursday’s live show was replaced by a pre-taped episode. Friday’s show was also on tape. So it appears she will not be returning to the show to say goodbye to viewers.

 

 

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