Megyn Kelly likely exiting morning show after blackface controversy

The fallout from Megyn Kelly’s comments about blackface are still ongoing. When Allahpundit wrote about this story Wednesday night Kelly had made her apology even as unnamed NBC staffers continued to drag her and her show in the media. But later last night CNN confirmed a story that first appeared at Variety saying Kelly was eyeing a new role at the network, one that would bring her portion of the Today show to an end:

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Her exit from the 9 a.m. hour of the “Today” show appears to be imminent. Variety reported on Wednesday evening that Kelly and NBC News executives have had conversations about a new role for her.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed that to CNN Business and said Kelly’s show will be ending. Negotiations about the end date and other details are still underway, the person said.

Kelly’s offensive remarks about blackface Halloween costumes on Tuesday have raised more questions about her future at NBC. Spokespeople for NBC News declined to comment, and most staffers at the news division remain in the dark.

The apparent end of the show (no official announcement yet) isn’t the only trouble she’s facing this week. Last night the Hollywood Reporter published an exclusive story claiming Kelly had been dumped by her agency, CAA. Mediaite the reported that wasn’t accurate, that Kelly herself had decided to leave CAA this week:

Mediaite has learned that the NBC News host fired the agency herself over a variety of issues including concerns about conflicts of interest in their representation of other talent and executives at NBC amidst what has become a contentious relationship…

Kelly has signed with another agency, UTA, sources familiar with the deal told Mediaite.

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But just before midnight, Mediaite added an update which reads: “Sources tell Mediaite UTA has pulled out of representing Kelly. ‘Given the circumstances it became impossible to represent Megyn Kelly,’ a UTA source said.” So Kelly dumped her agency to sign with another and then that agency backed away from her leaving her with…no representation? Suffice it to say Megyn Kelly is having a bad week.

This is a straw-that-broke-the-camel’s-back situation. Kelly isn’t leaving because of this one incident. She’s leaving because people at NBC consider her show a ratings failure and didn’t like her much to start with because she made a name for herself at Fox News. This incident provides an inflection point for NBC to make a change. At least that’s how it looks to me. We’ll see what new developments happen today.

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David Strom 3:20 PM | November 15, 2024
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