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NBC NEWS HAS pulled the plug on US television journalist Megyn Kelly’s morning talk show, after her comments about the use of blackface sparked a major backlash.
“Megyn Kelly Today is not returning,” NBC News reported, citing its own spokesperson.
“Next week, the 9am hour will be hosted by other Today co-anchors.”
The 47-year-old Kelly, a former attorney and Fox News anchor, is in talks about her future at NBC, with unnamed sources quoted by the network itself saying she is likely to leave.
Kelly’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, was quoted as saying that “discussions about next steps are continuing.”
At issue, according to The Hollywood Reporter: the payout of the remainder of her reported $69 million contract, and the length of her non-compete clause, which will determine where she could go next.
The cancellation of Kelly’s program was swift.
Just three days ago, during a segment about Halloween costumes, Kelly questioned if blackface — makeup traditionally used by non-black performers to mock African-Americans — was always problematic.
“What is racist? Because, truly, 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 Tuesday.
When I was a kid, that was OK as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character.
The comments sparked a quick backlash on social media, calls for Kelly’s resignation and displeasure from her own colleagues.
“While she apologised to the staff, she owes a bigger apology to folks of colour around the country,” said veteran NBC weatherman Al Roker, who is black.
On Wednesday, she opened her live show with a mea culpa.
“I’m Megyn Kelly and I want to begin with two words: I’m sorry,” Kelly said.
“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.”
Even before the controversy, Kelly had struggled in the ratings, often losing out to her competitors at ABC, a talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest.
It averaged about 2.4 million viewers a day, while its direct competitor, ABC’s Live with Kelly and Ryan, leads the time slot with 3 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Kelly earned fame as a longtime anchor for Fox News, notably sparring with Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
She left that network early last year and joined NBC. She has accused Fox co-founder Roger Ailes of sexually harassing her. Ailes died in May 2017.
© – AFP 2018 with reporting by Rónán Duffy
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What did she say that was so bad ? She spoke what she considers to be the TRUTH .
At worst a bit insensitive . I hope that everything said about white people is examined in the same manner .
@Pl O’neill: you are a gobshi#e.
@roderick: How can you honestly say that? What you have said is way way more offensive.
@roderick: you’re a godshite
@Matt Connolly: wrelease wroderick !
@roderick: No, you are.
@Austin Rock: Dissent
@Austin Rock: you are a gobshlte too
@Austin Rock: I think its not worth engaging these people. He/she is not even attempting to offer any meaningful contribution.
Just seeking attention and highlighting their virtue.
@roderick: You can’t handle the truth !
@roderick: awwww have a lickle cry there….poor baby got offended
@roderick: how is he a GS? You moron.
@Pl O’neill: I think you have to read between the lines . Shes was not liked at fox news (laughtable) and at her present position . Shes way over rated and over paid . Her show did not get the viewing figures it needed . She could walk away with the whole $69 million deal
As far as I can see she only asked a question and recalled factual events from her youth when such costumes were popular and seemingly innocent.
Even in this part of the world we had The Black and White Minstrel Show with blackface performers which was also the brand logo for Lyons Tea and HB ice cream had a Golly Bar with a blackface character as it’s logo. Back then nobody associated it with racism or even with black people tbh.
@David McShite: and of course Robertsons jam with the golly logo on kitchen tables for years .
@David McShite: and you speak for everyone, do you? Just because you didn’t associate such things with racism doesn’t mean others didn’t or it didn’t have an effect.
@Rei: Lord you’re a sickener
@Rei: no one associated them with racism, because they weren’t racist, just slightly ignorant and insensitive. we never dressed up in blackface here, backside we didn’t see any black people on TV, not because we looked down on anyone. modern blackface (zwarte Piet included) is generally nothing to do with white-black bigotry, but rather linked to innocent entertainment. if Americans dressed up as Boucicault’s drunken Irish character, we would not take offense but see it as “thick”, not racist.
@Rei: did it really really affect you? You must be very sensitive in this time for something that happened over 30 yrs ago.
Ridiculous! What has the world come to.!
What a load of PC shite
@The Bull McCabe: it’s not just PC shite , they use PC as an excuse now , the shows ratings were poor and that’s the reality behind this , she basically gave them an excuse to cancel the show and now they fight about the money and stage non compete , Fox will take her back in 6 months wait and see
Racism is abhorrent and needs to be challenged on every level, but genuine debate that challenges people to question the history of racism can only be a good thing
@Greedylocks: there is only the one race the human race.
@JesusMoreBullshit: spot on, but unfortunately there is all so the condition of being human which we cant seem to figure out
@JesusMoreBullshit: yes, humankind
@Greedylocks: Challenged against which race?
@Otranto: race is a presumption that others are not equal by accident of birth in religion,place or colour.
USA is beyond saving
@Austin Rock: I’m more than good with that…
@John Ryan: more than good = better
@Austin Rock: The USA has been a doomed nation for decades. This lunacy compounds a country that is financially bankrupt and corrupt to the core, beyond saving at this point.
They were looking for an excuse to dump her.They knew exactly what they were getting when they took her from Fox but it wasn’t working.They realised they made a mistake and she gave them an out.This is not the network taking a stand against racism.People need to stop rushing to be outraged about others outrage,because you’re actually contributing to what you claim to be speaking out against.Take that Kleenex man size situation as another example.If you think a company worth 3 billion,with a board, shareholders and a marketing department spending millions are changing a brand because some weirdo complained about it,then you’re not very bright.They’d made a decision to change it,found a tweet to reply to,and got millions of free publicity because the anti PC brigade lost their mind over it.
@Tom Thumb: Howya Tom
@Tom Thumb: Bang on.
@Tom Thumb: I think you are right about it being an excuse to get rid of her, but the message they are sending by blaming it on this is disturbing.
@Tom Thumb: honestly, the people who spout on about “pc gone mad” find offense in everything.
@Rei: They’re the most manipulated demographic in the world at the moment. There’s marketing and campaign(many political) meetings happening left,right and centre discussing ways of benefiting from their outrage.
Most of the time it is silly to say but this time true….This is Political Correctness gone mad….
@iComment: .
She should not have apologized. That seems to be the new rule that separates those who keep their jobs from those who don’t.
Peter Casey didn’t apologize. He got a massive boost in the polls.
Donald Trump doesn’t apologize and his supporters love him for it.
Apologizing is a sign of weakness and puts you on the back foot for the pitchfork social media mob.
In contrast…
Rosanne apologized. She got sacked.
Kevin Myers apologized. He got sacked.
George Hook apologized. He got sacked.
Interesting that it’s racist when she said blackface but not whiteface. Double standards much?
@B9xiRspG: how cannot it be racist if there is only one race the human race?
@B9xiRspG: while I don’t agree with their actions and I don’t see anything wrong with what she said I think it’s the racial history of blackface that makes it a different type of issue that whiteface.
@Jim Buckley Barrett:I tell you what I would love to see happening this year in the U.S.,Jim,.I would love to see the likes of the Proud Boys marching through the segregated areas of Baltimore,with half of them wearing their KKK outfits and the other half having their faces painted black.
@B9xiRspG: What’s whiteface?
For goodness sake. We’re doomed to this kind of stupidity.
@Daniel Donovan: doubly true when you look at her salary
Seriously the precious brigade are out in force! What exactly was wrong with what she said? She spoke about a time when it wasn’t wrong end of…that’s not racism…..that’s truth! Jesus you can’t sneeze now a days without offending someone.
@Emer McPherson: I don’t think so every single person on here agrees with you.
@Bríd Gallagher: is there a full stop intended after the word “so” in your sentence or is that word included but not strictly necessary. Depending on how you interpret it changes the meaning of your sentence completely.
@Bríd Gallagher: and is it only single people that agree or is it all individuals
I’d love to wear her face !
I’d love an aul gollybar , bleedn starvin
If she was top of the ratings she would have got a slap on the wrist. It suited her network to terminate her contract. They look good and dave money.
When has the press ever told the truth.
#It’s only racist if your white
@Karllye kripton: “Don’t you dare bring race into this” — White proverb
The Journal can’t even spell her name correctly in their headline— even though the good people at AFP gave them plenty of correct reference in their article. Good job, lads.
@Ajax Penumbra: Ah, there’s the fix. Top notch sub-editing, lads!
Between hitting 5 agreed and ok’s to view web pages previously easy to use, being careful not to talk or ask someone in work something that is now inappropriate, asking a team member why isn’t the work done without being accused of bullying, not asking questions to new team members without being sexist and thinking about the time when I was 15 and felt a boob and whether that is not considered sexual assault as ive no signed consent contract counter signed by my solicitor.
Where is the new line…..my view is we’re missed the point…..
When your up to your ass in alligators, sometimes you forget the original plan was to drain the swamp…..
Fantastic news
$69million
@emer caffrey: indeed. That’ll assuage a lot of things for her, so no wouldn’t worry about her going hungry or anything. That saI’d all.she did was state that there was a time when people dud such things : who doesnt remember gollywogs as a child ?
Stop the world, i want to get off.
The days of free speech seem to be over…but then again it looks like we can now blaspheme any religion we want with no consequence so it seems like a double standard. Who decides which topics are safe to comment on and which are not?
@Seeking Truth: You can say whatever you want within the confines of the law but that’s a two way street,so people can say whatever you want in response to what you say. Somebody reacting to those comments and taking away your TV show does not impinge on your free speech,especially when that somebody was having regrets about giving you that show in the first place. Double standards would be thinking those you agree with can say what they like but those who don’t agree with her shouldn’t say anything.Kind of like what you’re doing now.
@Seeking Truth: not any religion, just Christianity, especially Catholicism.
@Seeking Truth: the PC liberal Brigade decide and there all so dumb and indoctrinated they dont understand the danger for society . Free speech keeps us free , once that is tailored so is our freedom
She was a big name Fox News conservative and NBC is a liberal network this union was never going to work regardless of what she did or didn’t say. Something was bound to happen that’d either get her sacked or she’d leave of her accord. Conservatives and liberals just can’t coincide these days simple as that….. this is why we ain’t anywhere close to that Star Trek future
Wow not a single comment on here thinks blackface is a problem. I even got flagged by journal.ie for using the term. I guess what everywhere else says is true that the journal.ie comment section is the worst.
@Bríd Gallagher: then don’t use it.
Why sack her? Maybe the backlash alone could have educated her on her uninformed comments. Then a quick apology and move on.
As for her €65million contract?
What th f#ck is that about?
The misfortune she probably thought she was still working for fox news!
Megyn Kelly did nothing wrong expect for apologising. It was the apology that was the final nail in her coffin. NBC used this to get rid of her because her ratings were not good and they were paying her an absolute fortune. When speech is constantly measured against the potential for offence, nothing anyone says it without offence and yet nobody is actually offended. This is the new world and it sucks.
Racists see racism everywhere!
I did not think the thought police were that big in America . This is astounding . Shes talking about painting your face black on halloween and she gets fired . We truly are heading for the abyss . These liberals are not only stupid but are getting dangerous .
@John Porridge: I’m not sure you’re in a position to call anybody stupid John,not when you’re a major part of the problem that you’re claiming is dangerous. If you started calling out those manipulating your desperation to blame everything on PC culture and liberals,you’d give them less of an incentive to manipulate you.This is capitalism,not liberalism,the capitalists are using liberalism as a cover for their own ineptitude.
@Tom Thumb: i blamed the stupid decision to sack a person talking about painting her face black on halloween on Liberal PC Culture . Im calling out this madness and stupidity . I’m not being manipulated by anyone , i’m simply expressing my opinion . Your theory of capitalists using liberalism in some covert operation is nonsense. Talk about the issue at hand — do you believe she should have been fired ? And if so explain why
@John Porridge: The issue at hand is why Megyn Kelly was sacked,I understand why she was sacked,you don’t and there’s nothing covert about capitalists using liberalism as an excuse for their ineptitude,it’s very obvious to anybody who wants to see it.But if you think a woman who is well known for controversial views was sacked for those comments I can’t help you.
@Tom Thumb: dear Tom . If you believe she should be sacked for discussing painting her face black on halloween then you are one of the liberal stupid people i describe in my first comment . You also havent explained why she should have been sacked , probably because you perhaps realise how ridiculous it sounds once you think about it . Goodbye Thomas
@John Porridge: Reading is tricky I know,but I haven’t once said she should of been sacked,I merely explained to you why she was sacked and how naive you are to think it was for the reason the network gave. My opinion on whether she should have been sacked or not is irrelevant to the point I’m making.Do I think people should be sacked for a comment like that? In isolation I’d say no but Megyn Kelly’s career is about monetising causing offence,and this is an occupational hazard for people who do that.But as I said the writing was already on the wall because of the poor decision to give her the job in the first place and whoever made that decision should be sacked.
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