'Megyn Kelly Today' Canceled Following Blackface Controversy: Reports
Megyn Kelly Today has been canceled, according to multiple reports.
The 47-year-old journalist's NBC talk show is reportedly over after she was widely criticized on Tuesday for defending using blackface in Halloween costumes. Despite her tearful on-air apology on Wednesday, a source with knowledge of the situation at NBC tells ET it looks very likely the show will not be continuing, though an official decision has not been made. Kelly's future at NBC is still up in the air, the source adds.
A second source tells ET that the network spent much of Thursday morning reaching out to staff on Kelly’s show and letting them know that they are being reassigned within different divisions of the network, with most of the staff being reassigned within the Today show. The source says the staff has not been told that the show is canceled yet.
In addition, a third source tells ET, “The staff is definitely in a bad place in that they are being kept in the dark and feel like there is no sense of leadership.”
A rep for NBC could not be reached for comment.
People reports that Megyn Kelly Today has indeed been canceled.
“They haven’t made an official announcement about the show, but everyone knows what it means when they’re being moved somewhere else," a source tells the outlet. "The show is clearly over.”
While People reports that Kelly hasn't been fired completely from NBC, The Daily Mailand Page Six both report that Kelly will no longer appear on the network.
Kelly announced she was leaving Fox News for NBC last January, and ET confirmed that Kelly signed a multi-year agreement with the network that included her hosting her own daytime news program, anchoring a Sunday evening news show and taking part in special political programming and other breaking news coverage. At the time, Andrew Lack, Chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, said in a statement, "Megyn is an exceptional journalist and news anchor, who has had an extraordinary career. She's demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and we're lucky to have her."
Sources told ET last January that Kelly's decision to leave Fox News after 12 years was one based on her wanting to spend more time with her family as opposed to her salary.
"Everyone is, and was, putting so much emphasis on the money aspect ... But no one was listening to what she was hinting at the entire time -- which was that she wanted a schedule that would give her more time with her kids and allow her time to focus on specials," the source said. "It's more important for Megyn to see her kids off to school and be home for dinner with her husband -- who has done a great job of being Mr. Mom for most of 2016, something she credits him for often."
However, Kelly's first week hosting Megyn Kelly Today wasn't exactly smooth sailing. The program's bumpy start last September included an awkward interview with Jane Fonda in which Fonda criticized her for bringing up her plastic surgery, Debra Messing declaring that she regretted going on the show and a cameraman cursing after he accidentally walked into frame.
"It's been very exciting. It's been educational," Kelly told viewers at the end of the first week. "I’ve just been delighted at the media response, which is really -- no. The viewer response has been awesome, and I am so grateful to have all of you giving us a chance."
Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie defended Kelly last September during her appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, commenting, "I think she's got the eyes of the world upon her, and I think everybody can relate to how nerve-racking that is.
"We're thrilled to have her," Guthrie continued. "She's doing a lot, she's doing a lot of different things. She has a lot of range. I think she's awesome."
But a source told ET on Thursday that Kelly's talk show has been chaotic and dysfunctional behind the scenes since the show’s premiere in September 2017, and that three producers were reassigned after going to the network’s management this past summer “to demand to be taken off of the show because of all the chaos and bullsh**.”
“I’ve felt the show was coming to an end in December no matter what," the source says. "It was clear that it was not working and there is a lot of dysfunction.”
-- Reporting by Brendon Geoffrion
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