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Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
Entertainment
Peter Sblendorio

NBC cancels 'Megyn Kelly Today' as host discusses exit with network

NBC canceled Megyn Kelly's show as she negotiates about the host possibly leaving the network.

"Megyn Kelly Today is not returning," a representative of NBC News said in a statement Friday. "Next week, the 9 a.m. (EDT) hour will be hosted by other Today co-anchors."

The announcement came after NBC News reported that Kelly had begun negotiations with the network about potentially leaving in after her widely condemned comments about blackface.

The recent controversy stems from Tuesday's show, when Kelly, 47, questioned whether it's racist to wear blackface as part of a Halloween costume.

Kelly returned to the air Wednesday morning to apologize for her remarks, but the network aired recorded episodes Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile, the "Today" show covered the latest Kelly news Friday, and a tweet for the program said the host was in talks with the network "about her imminent departure," citing a source.

Kelly joined NBC last year following a lengthy tenure at Fox and is widely reported to have received a $69 million contract over three years.

The host received tremendous criticism following her comments about blackface, which she made during a segment that featured a discussion panel.

"What is racist?" Kelly asked during the episode. "Because you get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween. When I was a kid, that was OK as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character."

She apologized to her colleagues in an email later that day, and then told viewers Wednesday that she was wrong.

"One of the great parts of sitting in this chair each day is getting to discuss different points of view," Kelly said. "Sometimes I talk and sometimes I listen and yesterday, I learned. I learned that given the history of blackface being used in awful ways by racists in this country it is not OK for that to be part of any costume, Halloween or otherwise."

The host, whose program "Megyn Kelly Today" was the third hour of NBC's "Today" show coverage, replaced popular "Today" hosts Tamron Hall and Al Roker in that 9 a.m. time slot when she started at the network last year. Her morning show began in September 2017.

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