"Today" hosts Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Savannah Guthrie stayed on-air for the third hour of the morning show on Monday following the network's Friday announcement that "Megyn Kelly Today" had been canceled.
"Today, as you know, we are starting a new chapter in the third hour of our show," Kotb said at the top of that hour. "As it evolves, we want you to know the entire 'Today' family will continue to bring you informative and important stories, just as we always have."
Kelly was booted after she commented on Tuesday's show that it was not inappropriate for white people to darken their skin tone as part of a Halloween costume. The comments triggered a public backlash and criticism from her colleagues at the network.
"What is racist? You do 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," she said. "Back when I was a kid, that was OK just as long as you were dressing as a character."
Kelly, who previously insisted that Santa Claus had to be white, joined NBC News in April 2017 after becoming a breakout star as a prime-time host on Fox News, where she spent 12 years and demonstrated an independent streak among the mostly conservative lineup on the Rupert Murdoch-owned cable network.
However, the converted-to-daytime host lost about a quarter of the audience of 25- to 54-year-olds who had been watching the 9 a.m. hour of "Today" when it was co-hosted by Roker and Tamron Hall. Sources told The Times that Kelly will not appear again as a "Today" host, and that a deal for her exit from NBC News was in the works.
