Megyn Kelly Forced Out at NBC Days After 'Blackface' Controversy

Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly is now also a former NBC host, The Daily Mail reports.

"Megyn Kelly is done. She is not ever coming back," an NBC executive told the outlet. "We are just working out timing of the announcement but mark my word - she is gone and will never be seen on NBC live again."

The news of her departure comes after Deadline reported that she was dropped by her talent agency and had hired an attorney to represent her in settlement talks with the network.

The departure comes after a number of Kelly's NBC colleagues voiced their displeasure with her defense of “blackface” Halloween costumes.

“What is racist? You truly do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface at Halloween or a black person who puts on white face for Halloween," she said on her show Tuesday. "That was OK when I was a kid, as long as you were dressing like a character."

Kelly issued an emotional apology Wednesday.

“That conversation turned to whether it is ever OK for a person of one race to dress up as another -- a black person making their face lighter or a white person making theirs darker to make a costume complete," she said. "I defended the idea, saying that as long it was respectful and part of a Halloween costume, it seemed OK. Well, I was wrong and I am sorry."

Her comments drew harsh on-air reactions from her “Today” co-hosts, as well as NBC Chairman Andy Lack.

"There is no other way to put this, but I condemn those remarks," he said at a town hall with employees Wednesday, according to The Daily Beast. “There is no place on our air or in this workplace for them. Very unfortunate."

According to the report, NBC will still have to pay Kelly's $69 million contract.

Conservatives deny “racism” charge: Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro condemned the “blackface” comment but defended Kelly after her comment was called racist.

“Has anyone actually accused Megyn Kelly of being a racist? Of thinking that black people are lesser, or that they ought to be mocked for their skin color?” he wrote. “To my understanding, not a single such accusation has been levelled at Kelly – which makes sense, since any such accusation would be unsupportable. There’s no evidence Kelly is a racist.”

Fox News pundit Geraldo Rivera also defended Kelly as a “good person” and said he hopes she returns to Fox.

Leftists say Kelly was always “racist”: A number of leftists pointed to Kelly's comments about Santa Claus being “white” and her many segments on the New Black Panther Party.

“Simple fact is that Megyn Kelly made her rep doing a day time Fox show that mainly peddled Fox type conspiracy theories and New Black Panther Party style race-baiting news story arcs. What are we shocked about?” wrote TalkingPointsMemo editor Josh Marshall.

Journalist Kelsey Atherton added, “The $69 million for Megyn Kelly's buyout could pay, at a median salary of $39,000, for a full years employment for 1,769 journalists, or roughly ~5% of the 38,790 journalists employed in the United States.”

 

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