NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Megyn Kelly absent from show after blackface comments

NEW YORK

Megyn Kelly was absent from her NBC News morning show Thursday after this week’s controversy over her comments about blackface, amid indications that her time at the network could be ending after less than two years.

An NBC spokeswoman said that “given the circumstances,” the network was airing repeats of “Megyn Kelly Today” on Thursday and today.

During a segment about Halloween costumes Tuesday, Kelly defended the use of blackface while discussing a character on “Real Housewives of New York City” who darkened her face for a Diana Ross costume. She said it was acceptable when she was a kid when portraying a character.

Social media condemnation was swift, and Kelly apologized to fellow NBC staffers in an email later in the day. Yet both NBC’s “Nightly News” and the “Today” show did stories on their colleague’s comment. Al Roker said “she owes a big apology to people of color across the country.”

She opened Wednesday’s show by saying she was wrong and sorry for what she said.

“I have never been a PC kind of person, but I do understand the value of being sensitive to our history, particularly on race and ethnicity,” she said.

The reference to political correctness in a discussion about blackface struck some critics as odd, along with the show’s cameras panning over the audience giving her a standing ovation for nearly 20 seconds.

Associated Press