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After a week plagued by controversy, Megyn Kelly‘s daytime talk show Megyn Kelly Today has been cancelled, just over a year after its debut, NBC news announced Friday. Kelly, meanwhile, is currently negotiating her exit from NBC. (Watch Kelly’s ‘best’ Today moments.)
“Megyn Kelly Today is not returning,” an NBC News rep confirmed. “Next week, the 9 am hour will be hosted by other Today co-anchors.”
NBC hired Kelly away from Fox News in January 2017, handing her a reported three-year, $69 million contract to join the NBC News team and host Megyn Kelly Today, among other contributions. The former Fox News anchor took over the cherished post-Today time slot from Tamron Hall and Al Roker’s third hour of Today in September of that year.
But Megyn Kelly Today stumbled from the start, with Kelly making a number of embarrassing on-air gaffes during her first week. She again came under fire this week for not understanding why dressing in blackface for Halloween was offensive. Kelly later apologized, saying in an internal NBC email that “I realize now that such behavior is indeed wrong, and I am sorry. The history of blackface in our culture is abhorrent; the wounds too deep.” She also offered an apology on-air, but the mistake seemed to be the last straw that led to her departure.
The ratings weren’t great, either: Megyn Kelly Today was regularly topped by rival Live! With Kelly and Ryan, and couldn’t even match the ratings of Hall and Roker’s third Today hour. Kelly’s nighttime news magazine Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly was a misfire as well, with NBC quietly pulling it off the schedule after just eight airings.
Will you miss Megyn Kelly Today? Share your thoughts on the cancellation in a comment below.
It serves her right. Why do people on TV think they can say anything they want and get away with it. When will they learn to keep their opinions to themselves.
Because other people do say what they want and they get away with it. Remember Whoopie’s “It’s not rape rape” comment? I could go on.
I could go on and on and on about all the offensive, racist stuff Trump spews on a daily basis pretty much!
But this isn’t about Trump, is it? Stick to the subject matter if possible!
He has a hell of a lot more power and influence and responsibility to choose his words carefully, though, which I think is part of the point here.
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That said, I fully agree that that comment from Whoopi is horrific and I’m surprised that she hasn’t gotten in deeper trouble for those comments. Especially given the current climate with #MeToo and everything (I think her comment was made before that movement really started, but even so, it’s an example of the kind of ignorant mindset that #MeToo is trying to stop).
But you have no issue with Whoopie being brought into the conversation? Spare me.
Thank you!
Lynn, Whoopie also hosts a topical weekday morning television talk show. That is an appropriate apples-to-apples comparison. Throwing Trump in there is an apples-to-oranges comparison. And, yes, pun intended.
Lol! Well Joanne said people on tv and Trump is certainly on tv (way too much) and a former reality tv star as well. But I do appreciate your tone.
Whoopi and Joy needs to be fired.
And there’s a solution for that. First Tuesday of November. Vote him out. If you can.
We’re not talking about the President
It’s Whoopi, not Whoopie. I’m not just singling you out. I see it everywhere. Between Whoopie and Whoppi, it’s rare that I see her name spelled correctly (enough that it surprises me when I do).
It is her job to have an opinion. The executives at NBC did not agree with her opinions. So they fired her. Blatant McCarthyist tactics. I feel bad for her. She was doing what they paid her to do.
No it was not her job to have an opinion. As a host, it is not about you. It’s about engaging your guests and getting THEIR opinion on the subject and leading the discussion so that the audience is engaged as they hear BOTH sides of an argument. The host’s opinion is irrelevant and a skilled host doesn’t dominate the discussion as she did, ask irrelevant questions (like the one about Jane Fonda’s plastic surgery) or express your option over your guests’. That’s why she was fired. She focused on her position instead of her guests….and because her position was racist.
I don’t agree with that, AHS. When someone’s name is in the title of the show, I think his or her opinion IS supposed to be part of the conversation. See Bill Mahar and Stephen Colbert as examples. They have guests, but they also offer plenty of their own opinions.
This is exactly what I was thinking. It’s a new McCarthy era in America. People are fired and banned left and right with false accusations and for some nonsense reasons. Anyway, soon we won’t be able to use language or gestures to express ourselves for everything can be interpreted as offence or sexual harassment or something else “unacceptable”.
Agree
Totally agree hope she lands a great gig. I will be watching
So we should just censor free speech then?
You don’t have the right to free speech at a network owned by a Corporation. People think their right under the Constitution to free speech lets you say what ever you want, whenever you want. Well, that’s not the case. You don’t have the right to free speech at your employers, on network TV etc. A Network can censor your speech at any time by just beeping you out.
Then I suppose you agree it’s wrong for football players to protest the national anthem on company time right?
I didn’t realize that the players were being paid during the National Anthem. I was under the assumption that they are paid for practices and games.
She was fired due to poor rating and the fact that she could not connect with an audience.
Poor ratings because nobody likes her, wonder how the View has stayed on so long? All those ladies do is sit there for a hour and put down the President.
Free speech doesn’t mean speech free from consequences.
Well because NBC hired her to literally give her opinion.
Good riddance
Yeah, she’s walking away w/about 50 mil so NBC really made a very bad decision from the start.
I was a loyal Today show watcher but stopped watching when Megyn Kelly joined NBC. Loved Tamron Hall & Al Roker who had the timeslot originally. I hate Kelly’s politics & her stupidity. NBC really screwed themselves when they gave her that big contract!
I’m with you. I tried to give her a chance but after 10 minutes, I couldn’t stand the woman. 10 minutes? Yes, 999/1000 I can tell if I will like/respect/listen to their opinion because they can present in an adult/mature fashion. She was obnoxious, rude, self centered, etc.
If only they could get Tamron back but she is way too smart or could the right amount of money convince her?
Yes Tamron, then again I don’t know girl you know what ur dealing with. After all they did hire M.kelly.
Same here! Couldnt deal with all of the negativity coming from her show. It was too depressing for me in the morning! I loved Al and tamron also! Now I’ve been watching Kelly and Ryan more or just not watching at all.
Still ain’t something like to be cancelled over. We can tell abc was seeking an opportunity to get rid of her. We all know meginne is privileged racist .
Re-read this post and see why you have ZERO credibility.
It’s always posts such as that one that make me suspect it’s a Russian ‘bot. There are just too many obvious errors to think it’s an actual person.
nope never liked her. didnt care for interview style.
byee
Ditto!😊
don’t let the door hit you on the way out
Predicting she’ll end up back at Fox. This show was always doomed, and I think NBC was waiting for a reason to dump her.
Right on point
Wonder if any of the higher ups will get dumped given the contract they gave her? She was never a good fit this type of show in the first place and they really had no idea how to use her effectively. If you’re going to invest that much money in someone, not having a defined role and plan in place for her is insane.
At the end of the day, they’re just using this as cover to get rid of her now. If her ratings were good, this never would have blown up.
Being fired isn’t fun…unless you’re getting tens of millions thrown at you as you’re walking out the door.
Agreed. When you pay someone that amount of money, you should know what you are getting. I like Megan Kelly and enjoyed her show, especially the great conversation segments with the rest of the Today people. I don’t think Megan Kelly is racist!
If any of the Big Wigs get the boot I hope it’s Andy Lack. Everyone he’s brought on has been a disaster both on NBC & MSNBC. Not only did he get Kelly from Fox but also Greta Van Susteran and Hugh Hewitt on MSNBC were neither of them lasted either. He’s an idiot and they need someone that keeps their good talent like Tamera and Joy Reid and leaves the losers on other networks.
I was done with Megyn Kelly after the Santa Claus is white remark. Yet NBC hired her knowing what they were getting and paid her multi millions. This is a woman who claimed not to know the history of blackface. And her apology? WTF was that??
68 million contracts. Pure stupidity on NBC part.
I’d say something rude about her but there’s no point. No person could ever dislike a republican woman as much as she hates herself.
What’s Katie Couric doing these days?
Honestly, this was one of the least ignorant things she’s said…and this was very ignorant. She’s just an all around ignorant person. One can wonder why a woman of her age and level of education has no idea why blackface is problematic. It would be a very legitimate thing to wonder and question. But one should also take into consideration that this is the same person who emphatically and passionately proclaimed that Jesus (a Middle-Easterner) and Santa Clause (a fictional character) were, without a doubt, White. Girl, bye. I feel like NBC has been trying to look for an out for awhile now with Megan, and I guess they saw this as a good opportunity. When this deal first happened, it was sooo ridiculous and I knew (we all knew) it would backfire. It’s not even the fact that NBC brought her on as an employee; it’s that they signed her to such a ridiculous and unfathomable contract. Whoever decided she was worth that much and then went ahead with offering her that should either step down or be fired.
Well said
Sure we don’t know what colour they are, but they are represented in visual arts as white for ages. Sure there are famous “black Madonnas” in French churches, but they are black not because they are Afro-American, but because hundred years of wax light and smoke covered their faces with black dust. Basically they are blackface Madonnas. Should be destroy all them now?
Got to be Lack, I’m telling you, King of Stupid.
With all the crap said on The View, why has that show not been cancelled??
Because of the ratings. They were looking for excuse to fire her since it became obvious that her show is not living up to their expectations = flopped. The View has better ratings and diversity in it. White conservative female doesn’t fit on today’s TV if she’s not put together with an Afro-American, Asian, Latin and a white left liberal (or even better queer) person. But I assume Russia Today will take her with open arms.
There’s a difference between being conservative and outright racist though.
And the racism is what exactly? I know how complex the whole history of blackface is, but it’s Halloween, a carnival, where everything should be allowed. And, sorry, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving which is basically celebration of extinction of Native Americans. Is it not racist? Why not ban it first?
I wasn’t referencing just the blackface instance specifically. Megyn has a history of being racist which can be googled by anyone.
I agree with you 100%. One of the most disgusting shows on T.V., but I never was a big fan of Whoopi Goldberg, and that other loser, Joy Babar, the less said the better.
I’ve been wondering that myself, if anybody is racist its Whoopi and Joy.
So Dylan, All and Chenelle back on Monday at 9am??? Shouldn’t have messed with something that is working….
Good, now NBC can put game shows back on that hour, like God intended it.
Um, no, I won’t miss her because I couldn’t stand to watch her show! Hope they find someone suitable to take over that hour. Kelly & Ryan are getting pretty stale too. Not much to watch at that hour!
As for her suing NBC for some $50M…how can she do that when she was fired for her on-air behavior?
No I will not miss her at all in this format but I do feel terribly sorry for her. Personally I still don’t get the fuss made about this. Tameron Hall is the one I miss!! She was so good in that time slot and I would watch her again in a heartbeat – please bring her back NBC!!!
Honestly, I’m not sure why NBC hired her in the first place. I doubt her Fox News base followed her and the people who watch NBC don’t generally care for Fox News personalities. Dumb decision from the start.
I could never understand why NBC was so eager to sign her to a contract or why they would pay her so much. She is annoying and there are others out there doing what she does and doing it better. Fox isn’t credible news and as far as I am concerned, she has no real credibility as a news person. Hopefully they can find something better to fill that spot. I won’t miss her.
Oboy..watch your Comcast rates go up, as they recoup the NBC lost payout $$$’s to Kelly
Geeez, she took herself seriously. Tamron and anybody is better. Watched for maybe a total 10 minutes all year. Will not miss her at all. I remember as a kid, my southern raised parents explaining white folks used black face, cuz black people weren’t allowed to do a lot of things. I was like wtf?
This is what we have come to today everyone is super sensitive no one can say anything for fear of offending anyone Al Jolson many years ago made a fortune in black face Nothing she said is not true or really offensive Don’t say anything just report the facts play it safe even with your friends as you about to offend someone
Yes, how dare people be “super sensitive” about something that was created to specifically insult and mock black people.
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Al Jolson many years ago made a fortune in black face – Yes. But you’ll notice that we’re not in Al Jolsen’s day anymore, and we’re supposed to have learned from that era. There were a lot of things that were okay back then that aren’t, or shouldn’t be, acceptable now, and for very good reason.
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Seriously, that’s the best argument you can come up with to defend Megyn Kelly?
As a woman I was super-sensitive about the remarks made by Trump and Billy Bush…but look who got fired and who got elected president. I guess sensitive only counts when it comes to race. Women lose again.
Hey, you’ll get no argument from me on that one. I wish that had been enough to sink Trump’s presidential chances, too.
Why is it that anything that someone talks about it always turns into talking about the President!?
@Angela, an aspect that I think is getting lost in the conversation is the passage of time and the fact that intent can change over time. Yes, the history of blackface tells us that it was created to disparage or offend, but we are now in a time where the intent may be to factually represent and not offend. The historic nature of Barack Obama becoming POTUS or Black Panther becoming popular are due to the presence of the African American experience. Without the AA experience, Barack Obama would just be one of a group of 45 men in American history and Black Panther would just be one of many, many superhero movies. I can understand why a person of any race would want to attempt to represent the AA aspect of Barack Obama or Black Panther. It’s an important aspect.
I am aware of the history of blackface and the intent at the time, but times change and intent evolves. I completely agree that disparaging behavior can still occur today, but I also think a person could also just be intending to accurately portray characteristics of a prominent historical figure or a significant movie in pop culture. Instead of assuming that blackface (or whiteface) is ALWAYS intended to offend based on its historical use, I think we should look at the intent behind each individual use. If that intent is to offend, that’s certainly a problem, but if it’s to represent a characteristic of a historical figure or an event, in my opinion, that’s not an offense. To be clear, I’m white, and I will never be an African-American, but it’s bothers me that the intent (of anything) can be so rigidly defined by history and not allowed to ever evolve or change as society or the world might evolve or change.
And the way she is treated now in horrible. She’s a woman and a living being. But it doesn’t matter. Trump’s America is unredeemable.
Does this mean that the Kelly Clarkson show now has a time slot and Days is saved?
Brian Williams ,Lester Holt and Dan Rather flat out lied and made up stories on air,yet they still have their jobs and careers. One little offhand statement took down a womans whole career . So the things we have learned are Sexual assault is ok. Examples Louis CK,Morgan,Freeman,Jamie Foxx but a race like joke or statement you are ruined and fired. Barr and Kelly are perfect samples.
It really wasn’t about this issue though, they’re just using it as a vehicle to get rid of her without the focus being on NBC’s ineptitude for giving her a huge, guaranteed contract for a position she was never tailored for.
Agreed!
When did Holt or Rather make up stories or lie on the air? I know Rather was involved in some big blunders at CBS, but getting a story wrong and making something up are two different things.
I’m in a weird position defending Rather, since I have despised him for decades; and I was a big Williams fans until we all found out he’s a liar. Isn’t life funny?