Megyn Kelly Skips ‘Today’ as Questions Mount Over Her Future at NBC

Source: NBC News

October 25, 2018 at 09:41

Megyn Kelly left Fox News in January 2017 for NBC and a contract reported to be worth $17 million a year.CreditCreditPhillip Faraone/Getty Images for Fortune

Al Roker, a “Today” fixture, said on the show Wednesday that Ms. Kelly “owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country.” The anchor Craig Melvin called her comments “racist and ignorant.

On the Tuesday episode of her show, Megyn Kelly made racially insensitive remarks that caused a backlash. On Wednesday, she apologized at length to her NBC studio audience, which rewarded her with a standing ovation. And on Thursday, she did not go on the air.

In place of the live show that had been scheduled, NBC broadcast a previously recorded episode of “Megyn Kelly Today.” “Happy Friday!” Ms. Kelly said in the show’s opening moment.

It was the latest sign that Ms. Kelly may never return to the NBC airwaves.

Her decision to skip “Megyn Kelly Today” came two days after she suggested, during an on-air round-table discussion, that it was appropriate for white people to dress in blackface as part of their Halloween costumes.

Ms. Kelly apologized in an email to her NBC colleagues hours after making those remarks. On Wednesday, she delivered an on-air apology in the opening minute of her 9 a.m. show — “I’m Megyn Kelly, and I want to begin with two words: I’m sorry.”