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Showing posts with the label Megyn Kelly

Megyn Kelly and the Overwhelming Whiteness of TV News

We need more voices on our television screens that reflect where this country really is and where it’s going, writes Stereo Williams. Megyn Kelly is out at NBC. Things aren’t official as of yet, but numerous reports indicate the host won’t be returning to her 9 a.m. show Megyn Kelly Today. NBC News bet big on Megyn Kelly when the network lured her from Fox News with a three-year, $69 million deal, seeking a hike in Today ratings that were already strong. They also expected an anchor for a 60 Minutes-style Sunday evening news magazine. But that Sunday show crashed and burned, as did ratings for the 9 a.m. hour of Today during Kelly’s tenure—according to Nielsen, the show fell about 14 percent to 2.4 million viewers. The New York Times reported that NBC News president Noah Oppenheim and Megyn Kelly Today executive producer Jackie Levin told staffers on Thursday to prep for a little hiatus: “Mr. Oppenheim and Ms. Levin also informed them that they would be moved into new jobs at the

Megyn Kelly Demands $50 Million Settlement from NBC

Megyn Kelly is a day away from settling with NBC, and we've just learned something shocking -- NBC was paying her $25 million a year and the network may end up settling for close to $50 MILLION. Sources familiar with the negotiations tell TMZ ... Megyn's deal is 3 years firm, and she has around 1 year and 10 months to go. We're told her lawyer, Bryan Freedman, is going to have a call with NBC brass tomorrow and demand the network pay her full remaining salary, or face a lawsuit. We're told Freedman's case is that Kelly was targeted early on after she made critical remarks about Matt Lauer on her show after he was fired for sexual harassment. Lauer was well-liked at NBC, and the staff and talent became royally pissed off at Kelly because they felt she was attacking Lauer "with glee." Our sources say Kelly believes her comments about NBC News Chairman Andy Lack pissed off Lack and other brass, and they had it out for her. As for ending the relationsh

Megyn Kelly's NBC show reportedly in jeopardy after she defends the use of blackface #TerminateHer

Megyn Kelly's NBC News show is reportedly in jeopardy of being canceled amid growing backlash over her defense of the use of blackface. Kelly apologized Wednesday for the comments she made on her show Tuesday while discussing Halloween costumes. "You do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween or a black person who puts on white face for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was OK as long as you were dressed up as like a character," Kelly said on Tuesday. Just one day later, Kelly reversed course. "I learned that given the history of blackface being used in awful ways by racists in this country, it is not okay for that to be part of any costume," Kelly said. Her show, "Megyn Kelly Today," has suffered from poor ratings since its launch last September and has had its share of controversies, but her latest comments have also rankled others inside NBC News. The backlash from prominent figures at NBC News was

Megyn Kelly: Blackface 'was OK' for Halloween when I was a kid

Megyn Kelly sparked social-media backlash Monday in a discussion on her “Megyn Kelly Today” about Halloween celebrants wearing black or white face makeup. Kelly wondered aloud during a conversation about universities putting pressure on students not to wear costumes that might be deemed offensive. “What is racist?” she asked a panel that included Jenna Bush Hager, Jacob Soboroff, and Melissa Rivers. “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. Back when I was a kid, that was okay just as long as you were dressing as a character.” Kelly suggested that some people who get in costume are simply trying to get into character, as in a case she cited the example of Luann de Lesseps, who once generated debate by going as Diana Ross for Halloween. “There was a controversy on ‘The Real Housewives of New York’ with Luann, as she dressed as Diana Ross and she made her skin look darker than it reall