Megyn Kelly Negotiating NBC Exit Amid Blackface Controversy

Megyn Kelly is reportedly in negotiations to exit her contract with NBC amid criticism of a segment on her show discussing the use of blackface during Halloween. TMZ reports that Kelly is in talks to leave the network, with Deadline also reporting that two sources say Kelly is set to discuss her exit during a meeting on Friday.

The sites report that Kelly’s exit has been coming for a while now, but that the Megyn Kelly Today segment sent the plans into overdrive. During the segment, which aired on Wednesday, Kelly and an all-white panel discussed racism and the host said that when she was growing up (in the 1970s and early 1980s), blackface was okay for Halloween. She went on to bring her point to the present, pointing out Luann deLesseps donning blackface to dress as Diana Ross recently and saying, “People said that was racist. And I don’t know, like, I thought, like, ‘Who doesn’t love Diana Ross?’ She wants to look like Diana Ross for one day. I don’t know how that got racist on Halloween.”

The segment was widely criticized and while Kelly apologized, this was said to be the final straw for Kelly’s run on the morning show, which has been an ill fit since she moved from Fox News to NBC last year. Kelly has stumbled in several instances, including a row with Jane Fonda during an interview that was viewed as denigrating Fonda’s age. The show has hemorrhaged in the ratings as well, down 30% from last year.

TMZ also reports that Kelly’s co-workers didn’t like being on the air with her, with Andrea Mitchell leaving midway through Kelly’s coverage of Christine Ford’s testimony during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.

The parting is said from all sources to be mutually desired, though TMZ reports that Kelly has almost two years left in her $25 million deal and will ask to be compensated her full remaining salary as part of her exit. Kelly’s lawyer is prepared to argue that she was made a target by NBC executives after she openly criticized Matt Lauer amidst his being fired for sexual harassment last year, and that other NBC talent have received passes for insensitive comments that they have made.