One year after her highly publicized split from NBC, Megyn Kelly is returning to television and the Fox News Channel Wednesday night in an interview with Tucker Carlson.
Carlson announced on Monday's Tucker Carlson Tonight that Kelly, 48, will make her return to Fox News after nearly three years away. It will also be her first television appearance since NBC pulled Megyn Kelly Today off the air last October over Kelly's controversial blackface comments.
News of Kelly's guest spot on Carlson's show has prompted speculation that Kelly, who finalized her exit from NBC in January and is now a free agent, could return to Fox full-time—especially following the exit of Shepard Smith.
In a statement obtained by journalist Yashar Ali, Fox News Channel said on Monday that the timing of Kelly's guest appearance and Smith's exit is purely coincidental.
"Megyn Kelly's forthcoming appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight was coordinated weeks ago and is a onetime occurrence. Any future programming changes we are considering do not involve her," said a Fox News spokesperson.
Kelly, who rose through the Fox News ranks from reporter to anchoring her own show, defected to NBC in 2017, taking over the third hour of NBC's Today program and landing her own Sunday night magazine show. The latter quickly fizzled amid poor ratings, while Megyn Kelly Today got off to a tough start with Kelly clashing with guests such as Debra Messing and Jane Fonda.
NBC pulled the plug on Megyn Kelly Today last October after Kelly appeared to defend the use of blackface for Halloween costumes in a panel discussion. Speaking about Real Housewives of New York's Luann de Lesseps making her skin darker for a Diana Ross Halloween costume, Kelly said: "People thought that was racist. Who doesn't love Diana Ross? She wanted to look like Diana Ross for one day ... I don't know how that got racist on Halloween."
Although Kelly apologized for the comments on her show a day later, NBC opted to cancel Megyn Kelly Today on October 26, 2018. Kelly finalized her exit from NBC in January. The journalist was reportedly paid the entirety of the worth of her three-year contract, said to be $69 million. Kelly did not have a non-compete clause preventing her from working for another network, it was reported.
Where has Megyn Kelly been?
Despite the apparent lack of non-compete clause, Kelly has been quiet for much of 2019. But there is still plenty that Kelly could be appearing on Tucker Carlson Tonight to talk about.
Firstly, there's the one-year anniversary of the blackface controversy that ended her stint at NBC. However, as CNN reported in January, what Kelly can say about her time at NBC is likely to be subject to a non-disparagement agreement.
Another curious topic is the upcoming Lionsgate film Bombshell, about the sexual harassment allegations against Fox News founder Roger Ailes that ended his career at the cable news network. Kelly is played by Charlize Theron in the movie and the Oscar-winning actress has already been tipped for a second golden statue for her portrayal.
More likely, though, Kelly will be on Carlson's show to talk about the current controversy engulfing NBC News following explosive claims in Ronan Farrow's new book that NBC News bosses tried to kill his reporting on Harvey Weinstein. Farrow began investigating sexual misconduct claims against the disgraced movie producer while at NBC but later took his work to The New Yorker, which published his Pulitzer Prize-winning expose two years ago.
Teasing his Kelly interview Monday night, Carlson said Kelly "knows an awful lot about NBC" and "she's got a lot to say."
Tucker Carlson just announced that this Wednesday night he will have former Fox News star Megyn Kelly on for an interview -- her first TV appearance since she parted ways with NBC. pic.twitter.com/Bk5xHQQPaY
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) October 15, 2019
On Twitter, where Kelly has remained active during her television hiatus, the former NBC star has commented multiple times on the ongoing animosity between Farrow and NBC News bosses.
On October 10, Kelly defended Brooke Nevils, the former NBC News employee whose allegations of rape against Today host Matt Lauer ended his NBC career.
The attacks being heaped on Brooke Nevils by ppl who have no clue how unchecked power can infect a workplace are deeply misguided. No sane person can think Lauer’s behavior here-that to which he *admits*-was anything less than abhorrent. How was he able to get away w/it so long?
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) October 10, 2019
Kelly has also retweeted and engaged with tweets putting forth Farrow's claims that NBC News bosses tried to kill his reporting on Weinstein.
