Megyn Kelly is out at NBC following controversial comments she made about blackface this week, a source told Page Six.
It took just 48 hours for Kelly to be cut from the network.
During a panel discussion on “Megyn Kelly Today” on Tuesday with Jenna Bush Hager, Jacob Soboroff and Melissa Rivers, Kelly said, “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.”
The former Fox News host, 47, apologized to her staff in an email later that day and on Wednesday, she made a public apology on-air.
“I want to begin with two words: ‘I’m sorry,’” she said at the start of her show. “Yesterday we had a discussion here about political correctness and Halloween costumes, and that conversation turned to whether it is ever okay for a person of one race to dress up as another — a black person making their race lighter or a white person making theirs darker, to make a costume complete.
“I defended the idea, saying as long as it was respectful, and part of a Halloween costume, it seemed okay,” she continued. “Well, I was wrong and I am sorry.”
On Thursday, instead of airing a new episode of “Megyn Kelly Today,” NBC aired a rerun from Aug. 31. Another insider noted, “Not being on air is the kiss of death!”
Before Page Six learned Kelly’s fate, an insider added that there were “lots of balls still in the air.”
“She’s lawyered up, multi-year contract,” the insider added. “It’s complicated. Now is as good of time as any to get rid of her.”
Hollywood agency CAA recently parted ways with Kelly. The company began repping the star in 2015. She’s currently being represented by entertainment lawyer Bryan Freedman.
When she joined NBC in 2017, she was given a $20 million-a-year contract. It seems the network will now pay out the remainder of the contract, totaling $69 million, reports The Daily Mail.
Kelly has a history of making inflammatory comments. In 2013, she went on air declaring that Santa Claus and Jesus were both white men.
NBC could not be reached for comment.