Megyn Kelly’s time on “Today” could be coming to an end by December, TV insiders told Page Six — and her fate may have been sealed before her current scandal, in which she defended wearing blackface on Halloween.
Multiple sources report that NBC could pull the plug on “Megyn Kelly Today” by year’s end. Talk of the move was growing before this week, when Kelly wondered why “you get in trouble if you .?.?. put on blackface.”. Adding “Back when I was a kid, that was OK as long as long as you were dressing up as a character.”
She’s halfway through a three-year contract, at $20 million a year. A source said that with this gaffe, NBC could just “let Kelly hang out to dry.” Another source wondered, “Is NBC enjoying Megyn’s latest self-inflicted wounds?”
The network covered her offensive comments on both “NBC Nightly News” and “Today,” and the issue was included in a “Late Night With Seth Meyers” monologue. They NEVER cover their own scandals unless they’re eradicating the problem.
NBC News boss Andy Lack addressed the issue at a previously scheduled town hall meeting.
“There is no other way to put this, but I condemn those remarks,” we hear he told staffers. “There is no place on our air or in this workplace for them. Very unfortunate.”
He added, “I think that ‘Nightly’ covered the story well … appropriately so,” and that the “Today” “team did an excellent job covering it properly … That is the ‘Today’ show and ‘Nightly’ at their very best.”
As far as where Kelly could land, sources told us her team is contractually not allowed to talk to rival networks — but that there have been “informal reach-outs” and Kelly “misses news.”