financetom
Politics
financetom
/
Politics
/
NBC News, Megyn Kelly reach separation agreement
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
NBC News, Megyn Kelly reach separation agreement
Jan 13, 2019 4:20 AM

NBC News announced its professional divorce agreement with Megyn Kelly late Friday, ending an association with the former Fox News Channel star whose attempt to become a network morning television star as part of the "Today" show floundered.

Terms were not disclosed. Kelly was in the second of a three-year contract that reportedly paid her more than $20 million a year.

She's been off the air since October after creating a furor by suggesting that it was OK for white people to wear blackface on Halloween, and exit negotiations had dragged for two months over the holidays. Even before the controversial commentary, her future was considered limited at NBC News.

"The parties have resolved their differences, and Megyn Kelly is no longer an employee of NBC," the network said in a statement Friday night.

NBC says she'll be replaced in the third hour of the "Today" show by anchors Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones.

Her tenure was also a failure for NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack, who lured her from Fox News Channel with the type of big-money contract that was once standard in television news but now is less so with financial constrictions and less viewership. In a sense, Kelly was caught in a no-woman's land: some at NBC were suspicious of her because of the Fox News background, while her former audience at Fox resented her for tough questioning of Donald Trump on the presidential campaign trail.

While at Fox, her accusations of unwanted sexual advances by the network's late chief executive, Roger Ailes, helped lead to his firing.

She made news at NBC when interviewing women who accused Trump of inappropriate behavior and spoke with accusers of Harvey Weinstein, Bill O'Reilly, Roy Moore and others, as well as women who say they were harassed on Capitol Hill. The episode with Trump accusers had more than 2.9 million viewers, one of her biggest audiences on the network.

Time magazine, which honored "The Silence Breakers" as its Person of the Year in 2017, cited Kelly as the group's leader in the entertainment field.

But tough segments on accusations against former NBC anchor Matt Lauer didn't win her friends internally, as did her public call for Lack to appoint outside investigators to look into why the network didn't air Ronan Farrow's stories about Harvey Weinstein and allowed Farrow to take his story to The New Yorker.

When those stories began to fade, Kelly had trouble attracting an audience in the soft-focus world of morning television. She also briefly hosted an evening newsmagazine that didn't catch on with viewers.

Kelly made a tearful apology to viewers following her blackface comments, but it proved to be her last appearance on NBC News.

"What is racist?" she said on the show. "Truly, you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface on Halloween or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was OK, as long as you were dressing up as a character."

Critics accused her of ignoring the ugly history of minstrel shows and movies in which whites applied blackface to mock blacks.

It's not immediately clear what's next for Kelly. NBC would not comment Friday on whether the separation agreement allows her to write about her experiences at the network.

There's no non-compete clause, meaning Kelly is free to seek other television work if she wants to.

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
Govt blames inaction by AAP in Punjab, Delhi for bad air quality
Govt blames inaction by AAP in Punjab, Delhi for bad air quality
Nov 6, 2023
Accusing Kejriwal of being busy with election campaigning in poll-bound states and waking up to the situation late, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, said that the Centre had held a meeting with Chief Secretaries and senior officials from four North Indian states on 20th October to discuss measures to reduce air pollution, which he claims weren't adopted by the AAP-led governments.
Lok Sabha passes Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill — All you need to know
Lok Sabha passes Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill — All you need to know
Jul 11, 2023
Activists have contended that words like "ecotourism facilities" and "any other purposes" are too vague and may pave the way for widespread exploitation and misuse.
What is the debate over Biodiversity Bill, likely to be tabled in monsoon session of Parliament
What is the debate over Biodiversity Bill, likely to be tabled in monsoon session of Parliament
Jul 12, 2023
The new bill exempts registered AYUSH practitioners and people accessing codified traditional knowledge, from sharing benefits with local communities or giving prior intimation to state biodiversity boards before accessing biological resources.
Brahmapuram waste plant fire: Kerala Assembly witnesses uproarious scenes, LoP says CM running away from issue
Brahmapuram waste plant fire: Kerala Assembly witnesses uproarious scenes, LoP says CM running away from issue
Mar 13, 2023
A fire that broke out at the waste treatment plant in Kochi on March 2, 2023, continues to spread toxic fumes even after 11 days of the incident. The Kerala government has said that 95 percent of the fire has been extinguished, but the smoke from the landfill has not entirely subsided. 
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved