Media

Megyn Kelly to be free to join other networks after leaving NBC: report

Megyn Kelly will be a free agent and can sign with other networks after she leaves NBC, according to a report in Variety.
 
 
Variety says minor issues around legal language still need to be resolved in the exit talks, which have been taking place since October, before the negotiations will be complete. 
 
{mosads}But Variety, citing a person familiar with the matter, said the star is not expected to be bound by any non-compete restrictions. 
 
 
The Hill has reached out to NBC News and Kelly for comment. 
 
NBC officially announced it was cancelling “Megyn Kelly Today” in October following comments the host made around dressing up in blackface for Halloween.  

During a panel segment on Oct. 23, Kelly said it was “OK” when she was growing up to wear blackface “as long as you dressed up as a character.”

 
She later apologized, but the network still decided to cancel her show.
 
Many fans felt the cancellation was too harsh, with a Morning Consult and Hollywood Reporter survey finding that just 26 percent felt the decision by NBC brass was appropriate.
 
 
Where Kelly goes from here is a point of heavy speculation in media circles. 

With NBC and MSNBC off the table, CBS, ABC, CNN and Fox News would be the remaining major national broadcast outlets where she could potentially land. 

A return to Fox News appeared to be squashed by 21st Century Fox Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch in early November. 

“I’m very happy with our current lineup on Fox News and we won’t be making any changes there,” Murdoch said at the New York Times’ DealBook conference on Nov. 1.

 
Kelly departed Fox News in early 2017 after being the second highest-rated host in cable news the previous year, behind only, who parted ways with the network in April 2017.