What Life Is Like For Megyn Kelly Today
By now, you probably know the story: Megyn Kelly ditched her long-running spot as a nighttime personality on Fox News to host Megyn Kelly Today on NBC, starting in September 2017. The show's ratings were reportedly dismal and the content was poorly reviewed, but for $69 million, NBC and Kelly soldiered on.
That is, until October 2018, when Kelly — who already had a history of controversial comments from her time at Fox News — put her foot in her mouth in a big way when she questioned an all-white panel about why wearing blackface for a Halloween costume is offensive. She apologized the next day, but the damage was done and her show was swiftly canceled, complete with condemnation of Kelly by her colleagues at NBC.
Since then, Kelly has officially severed all ties with NBC and is moving on with her life. Here's what she's been up to since her firing.
Her story made its way to Hollywood
Days after Megyn Kelly Today was canceled, photos surfaced of Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly in director Jay Roach's Roger Ailes biopic. Kelly and several other female Fox News employees famously accused Ailes, the former chairman and CEO of the network, of sexual harassment, which Kelly detailed in her book Settle For More and at a Business Insider conference (via The Daily Beast). She alleged that Ailes "tried to grab me three times, and make out with me, and I had to shove him off of me."
Asked by Us Weekly, how she feels about the casting, Kelly admitted she was "a little scared" about the film, despite the "honor" of having Theron play her. "I consider that particular chapter of my life hallowed ground," Kelly told the tab, adding, "I don't want anyone misrepresenting it. So I am hopeful that the people associated with that project — and they all seem above-board to me — will be really respectful of the women of Fox News in telling that story."
Leave her kids out of it
Since being ousted from NBC, Megyn Kelly and her family have been hounded by the press and paparazzi more than ever. While she's often friendly when she's flying solo or out with her husband, Kelly is not always particularly thrilled with the attention — and that was especially true when she alleged that her kids were being targeted by invasive photographers.
On Halloween 2018, a furious Kelly tweeted, "For a week paparazzi has been lurking outside my home day & nite. [sic] Finally today I took my kids to school. I went out alone 1st, offered them donuts & begged them to just take their pic of me & to leave my kids alone when they emerged. All were nice. Except the Dailymail [sic]."
She added, "The DailyMail 1st published photos of my husb IN OUR HOME & then *did* photog my kids, trailed us to my daughter's school, & secretly videotaped my 7-yr-old child (her classmates too) & posted it. THIS IS NOT RIGHT."
Her staff really got the shaft
Page Six reported that since the Today show was taking the 9 a.m. slot back from Megyn Kelly Today, it would film on the normal Today set, leaving many freelancers from Megyn Kelly Today out of work. Sources claimed that many staffers from Megyn Kelly Today remain unemployed since her firing and that the erstwhile hostess hasn't even reached out to them.
"Many people on Megyn's staff haven't heard a word from her since she was fired and they're pissed," a production source told Radar Online. "They've been expecting an apology or some sort of acknowledgement from her but that hasn't come."
The source explained that though NBC tried to find placements for the show's workers elsewhere on the channel, about half of the former employees from Megyn Kelly Today are out of work because the rest of the shows on the network were already fully staffed. "Many are outraged by her greed and the fact that she's done nothing to compensate or even acknowledge those behind the scenes, who did their best to make her look good despite months of trying circumstances," the source said.
She has 69 million reasons not to trash talk NBC
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the biggest sticking point in Megyn Kelly's contract negotiations after her termination wasn't how much cash she'd take home, but about keeping her mouth shut with a non-disclosure agreement. After all, while she was still on the peacock's payroll, she once told Us Weekly of a possible Matt Lauer comeback, "I know too much that others don't know."
She also said at a Business Insider conference in November 2017 of the Lauer scandal (via The Daily Beast), "I had heard rumors about Matt. But that's all they were, and my feeling was a rumor is not the same as a reportable fact. She added, "I had no inside knowledge at all, but I knew people were sniffing around the issue, and hoped it wasn't true."
A source additionally noted to Page Six, "Look at what she was able to say when she was in the building, imagine what she might want to say when let loose." An insider also explained that the NDA was standard operating procedure for any employees leaving NBC, adding "She signed the non-disclosure agreement, so don't expect any tell-all books or big interviews."
Are these NBC outcasts sticking together?
Megyn Kelly and fellow former NBC News star Matt Lauer both have time on their hands, and a report suggests they may be spending that time together to develop a new gig — despite her prior comments about Lauer's alleged proclivities. Gossip columnist Rob Shuter revealed on his Straight Shuter! podcast (via Radar Online) that Kelly has reached out to Lauer about doing a new morning show together.
Shuter claimed his sources told him, "As part of both Matt's and Megyn's exit agreements, they signed confidentiality agreements and time-limited non-competes. But once the agreed time is up, both would love to return to TV and doing it together would be huge."
Shuter added that not only do Lauer and Kelly want to get back to work — despite having enough money to never need to work again — they both want to thumb their nose at their former shared network. "They both are very angry with how their different situations were handled, and punishing the Today show by going up against it on Fox News would provide both of them with a certain amount of glee," the sources alleged.
She's sacked but not strapped
Most of us either have to work really hard for a really long time, invest brilliantly, or win the lottery to even acquire $1 million. Not Megyn Kelly, who got fired from NBC and still collected the full sum of her contract. A source told Page Six that Kelly held onto "the remainder of her $69 million deal, said to be between $25 million and $30 million" despite only working for 18 months out of her reportedly intended three years.
That huge paycheck was reportedly what ultimately led to her downfall. An insider told Page Six, "Once Megyn's salary was made public, the knives were out. Other network talent went in demanding a raise equivalent to Megyn, and were not happy to be told 'no.'"
For what it's worth, she's maintained her sense of humor. In January 2019, shortly after the exit deal was finalized, Kelly tweeted, "About to begin jury duty this morning. Slightly concerned about the effectiveness of the 'I'm far too busy' excuse this time."
Dog mom first, TV host second
In January 2019, TMZ cameras caught up with Megyn Kelly, who told them audiences would "definitely see [her] on TV" this year, though she didn't offer any specifics — because she has other plans to handle first. "My first priority, I want to get a new dog," she said. "Our dog died in July and we are so sad, he was 14."
It's unclear when and where Kelly will make her first post-NBC television appearance, but a source told Radar Online that it's likely to be on The View, first as a guest appearance and possibly, eventually as a permanent co-host. The insider dished, "Execs are very hot on the idea. They think she would be able to keep up with [co-host] Whoopi Goldberg and keep her in check."
In December 2018, Variety reported that Kelly didn't have a non-compete with NBC, which would free her to work at other networks, but don't expect her to return to Fox News. When asked about a Kelly comeback a month prior, 21st Century Fox executive chair Lachlan Murdoch told press, "I'm very happy with our current lineup on Fox News and we won't be making any changes there."
She's having fun with her husband and girlfriends
Not working has offered Megyn Kelly more time for her girlfriends, and she's enjoying every last moment of it. To celebrate her 48th birthday in November 2018, The Daily Mail reported that Kelly spent more than two hours at lunch at a New York City cafe with her former Fox News Channel colleague, meteorologist Janice Dean, with whom she posed for a selfie in the snow outside (pictured above). She also enjoyed a weekend at a winery in the Hamptons with pals.
Radar Online also reported that Kelly and her husband, writer Doug Brunt, also took in the Broadway show Network, starring Bryan Cranston. The play is based on a novel that was also adapted into a 1976 Peter Finch film about a news anchor who's on the verge of losing his job because of poor ratings. Kelly even tweeted about the show, captioning a smiling selfie in front of the show's poster, "@DougBrunt & I thoroughly enjoyed 'Network' on Broadway tonight. @BryanCranston was brilliant, as he is in everything. A lot of wisdom in this one."
Jane Fonda flipped the script on their feud
While reports suggest that most of Megyn Kelly's colleagues at NBC were happy to see her go, one of her harshest critics, actress and activist Jane Fonda, actually showed a great deal of compassion for the ousted morning show hostess.
If you'll recall, Fonda was one of the Kelly's first celebrity interviews on Megyn Kelly Today, and a moment from the chat went viral when Kelly asked Fonda about plastic surgery. If looks could kill, Fonda would have been behind bars for the murder of Megyn Kelly; Fonda later told Variety that the line of questioning was "so inappropriate" and left her "stunned" at the time, adding, "It showed that she's not that good of an interviewer."
Fonda wasn't the only party to keep the feud going — Kelly lashed out at her on air after the initial episode.
Still, in November 2018, just after Kelly's firing, Fonda told Entertainment Tonight, "I feel badly, because, you know, I wanted her to make it, I did ... That's always how everyone learns, through making mistakes. It's through failure that we grow and learn. I know that has been true for me, and I think it is for everybody."
Is she an ally or an opportunist?
According to a May 2019 Page Six report, Megyn Kelly was overheard saying how "very happy" she was to fly under the radar, and enjoying some much-needed family time. But that doesn't mean she's lost her voice entirely in the public arena.
Towards the end of Pride Month in June 2019, which celebrates the progress made by LGBTQ+ rights efforts, Kelly made a rare public statement in support of her former fellow Fox News colleague, Guy Benson, who previously came out on her Fox show, The Kelly File. Speaking with Us Weekly, Kelly congratulated Benson on his engagement to his boyfriend, Adam Wise, and praised her fellow pundit's "quick wit, intelligence and willingness to fight for his ideals."
The statement could be a precursor to Kelly's reported plans to try to get back into the business, but that's all speculative, as of this writing. However, it will most certainly raise the eyebrows of her biggest detractors, like the human rights group, Equality Matters, who, in 2014, pointed out some problematic guests Kelly hosted during her Fox News days by evocatively asking (via HuffPost), "Is Megyn Kelly Homophobia's Best Ally at Fox?"
At this point, it's anyone's guess, but one thing is for sure — Kelly still hasn't lost the ability to get her name in the headlines.