Thursday and Friday’s broadcast ofMegyn Kelly‘s 9 a.m.Todayshow hour have been replaced with pre-taped episodes amid backlash over the host’s remarks about blackface earlier this week.
“Given the circumstances,Megyn Kelly Todaywill be on tape the rest of the week,” an NBC spokesperson confirms to PEOPLE.
Netflix also confirmed that some cast members and executive producers fromHouse of Cardshad pulled out of their scheduled Thursday appearance on the show, according toDeadline.
The former Fox News host drew ire Tuesday morning when shequestioned whether wearing blackface as part of a Halloween costume is actually racistduring a segment on her show. She and an all-white panel were discussing campus attempts to discourage “inappropriate and offensive costumes” when Kelly asked: “But what is racist? Because truly, you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface at Halloween or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was okay as long as you were dressing up as like a character.”
The outcry on social media was swift, and even Kelly’s NBC colleaguescondemned her harshly on-air.Craig Melvincalled her remarks “indefensible” as well as “ignorant and racist,” andAl Rokerinsisted she “owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country.”
Kelly, 47, has apologized twice — first in aninternal email to colleaguesand thenon-air— but the backlash continues to heighten, and questions about her future at the network loom, especially with the morning show just days away from its annual Halloween special.
“We began discussions earlier this month about a different role within NBC News because Megyn wants to be involved in political coverage in a deeper way than she can do at 9 a.m,” said the source. “Megyn indicated before this brouhaha that she wanted to move on before the end of the year in order to be involved in the presidential campaign coverage.”
A separate source told PEOPLE many at theTodayshow are displeased with Kelly amid the blackface drama and are questioning her future at the network: “People at theTodayshow are not happy with Megyn right now,” said the source, adding that “nobody knows what is going to happen with her now” in regard to her position.
Kelly and her agency CAA have alsoparted ways, the talent agency confirmed toThe Hollywood Reporter. A source told PEOPLE that Kelly fired CAA because of conflicts of interest they had with NBC. The source also said she had been offered representation from UTA but then backed out.
A rep for Kelly at NBC News declined PEOPLE’s request for comment. CAA did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
source: people.com
