The “Megyn Kelly Today” show will not return, NBC announced in a statement Friday.
The Thursday show was previously recorded. Friday episodes are typically pretaped. NBC said in its statement that next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other “Today” co-anchors.
“Given the circumstances, ‘Megyn Kelly Today’ will be on tape the rest of the week,” a spokeswoman for NBC News said Thursday, according to CNN.
NBC News and Kelly are in talks about her leaving the network, NBC News reported Friday morning.
"Conversations have already started about Megyn's exit from the network," a source familiar with the current discussions told NBC News.
A meeting is scheduled for Friday with company executives, NBC News reported.
One topic of the conversation could be Kelly's financial compensation or whether she went against her contract. Kelly earns $23 million a year under a three-year deal signed in January 2017, NBC News reported.
The New York Times reported that the future of Kelly's show has been up in the air even before Kelly's Tuesday comments in which she defended blackface Halloween costumes, which she apologized for on the air Wednesday.
According to unnamed sources, the publication reported Kelly has discussed winding down the show later this year with NBC Chairman Andy Lack. She has also reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with NBC News execs.
Related: Megyn Kelly apologizes after controversial blackface comments
"There is no other way to put this, but I condemn those remarks — there is no place on our air or in this workplace for them. Very unfortunate," Lack said at an NBC News town hall Wednesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "I think that 'Nightly (News)'covered the story well last night and appropriately so. I think this morning on the 'Today' show, the team did an excellent job covering it properly. I thought Craig (Melvin) and Al (Roker) brought a thoughtfulness and a context to it that was sorely missing, and they really did this company and our audience a real public service. And that is the 'Today' show and 'Nightly' at their very best.
“As we go forward, my highest priority remains, and as we sort through this with Megyn, let there be no doubt that this is a workplace in which you need to be proud and in which we respect each other in all the ways we know is foundational to who we are.”
According to THR, "Megyn Kelly Today" will end by the end of the year. The outlet reported that Kelly met with network execs to discuss her future, which reportedly includes a desire to cover more politics and news.
Credit: Phillip Faraone
Credit: Phillip Faraone
The reports come after THR reported that Kelly's talent agency, CAA, dropped her as a client. Kelly has hired attorney Bryan Freedman, indicating she could be negotiating an exit or change with NBC.
Ratings for Kelly’s show have struggled. Her first show with NBC, “Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly,” debuted in June 2017 to average ratings before it ended. She then started her weekday morning show in September 2017, which replaced the third hour of “Today,” which was hosted by Al Roker, Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones. Ratings for that show have not surpassed the numbers of the previous show in that slot.
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