Megyn Kelly’s legal team is attempting to get journalist Ronan Farrow to observe NBC’s exit discussions.
Seeking allies. Megyn Kelly ’s lawyer turned to Ronan Farrow after the Megyn Kelly Today host was ousted from her job at NBC, a source tells Us Weekly exclusively.
The insider notes that Kelly and her lawyer could be meeting with the network as early as Friday, October 26, and the attorney has asked Farrow to attend the sit-down.
A second source tells Us that NBC management was gunning for Kelly after her aggressive coverage of the #MeToo movement, which included moments when NBC employees made headlines.
Meanwhile, a separate insider confirmed that Kelly covering Matt Lauer and Tom Brokaw ’s alleged sexual misconduct angered the network and made executives want to push her out. The 47-year-old journalist not only had the 60-year-old former Today show cohost’s accuser Addie Zinone on her show, she also called for an independent legal investigation of NBC News chairman Andy Lack and the handling of Farrow’s work and complaint.
Farrow left NBC News during his groundbreaking investigation of Harvey Weinstein ’s sexual misconduct. The 30-year-old reporter claimed he “was being blocked from further reporting,” though NBC has denied allegations of attempting to impede the story from running.
A source confirmed to Us on Thursday, October 25, that Kelly was out at NBC just two days after she made a controversial comment about blackface on Megyn Kelly Today . “What is racist?” she asked during a panel discussion about Halloween costumes. “You truly do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface at Halloween or a black person who puts on white face… That was OK when I was a kid, as long as you were dressing like a character.”
After much social media backlash and getting called out by Al Roker, Kelly apologized on-air and in a letter to her colleagues. The network aired a rerun of the show on Thursday.
“She didn’t want to leave NBC but was forced out by management,” an insider revealed of her departure. “This is only just beginning to sink in for Megyn because it happened so quickly.”
Meanwhile, Kelly spoke to Us about her desire to make her morning show “newsier” one month before the controversy. “The question for us is whether that content will resonate enough at 9 a.m. for the show to be considered a commercial success,” she explained. “My own takeaway is, if that content doesn’t work at 9 a.m. and if all that works at 9 a.m. is much lighter fare, then I have a decision to make because I’m not going to do that.”
However, a source told Us that discussions about ending Megyn Kelly Today were happening before she defended blackface: “This is not a recent development. NBC was practically waiting for a reason to end this show, and what Megyn delivered was a gift — an ‘out,’ essentially.”
