--- title: NBC Canceles Megyn Kelly Today After Blackface Controversy description: Amid growing controversy over Megyn Kelly's comments about blackface, NBC has announced that it has canceled Megyn Kelly Today canonical: https://time.com/5434993/megyn-kelly-today-cancelled/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-10-26T17:38:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:55:39.682Z og:title: NBC News Cancels 'Megyn Kelly Today' Following Blackface Controversy og:description: Kelly's future at the network is uncertain og:url: https://time.com/5434993/megyn-kelly-today-cancelled/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1ca300462585bd0/69893d7c8fd2ee16e535cf83/megyn-kelly-statement.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Megyn-Kelly-Statement og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: NBC News Cancels 'Megyn Kelly Today' Following Blackface Controversy twitter:description: Kelly's future at the network is uncertain twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1ca300462585bd0/69893d7c8fd2ee16e535cf83/megyn-kelly-statement.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # NBC News Cancels _Megyn Kelly Today_ Following Blackface Controversy > Sponsored content. 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There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=e0203a76-a6f8-4d50-8bbf-96de75116251&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 26, 2018 5:38 PM UTC  Megyn Kelly hosts Megyn Kelly Today on Monday, October 1, 2018 Megyn Kelly hosts Megyn Kelly Today on Monday, October 1, 2018 Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 26, 2018 5:38 PM UTC Amid growing controversy over Megyn Kelly’s racially insensitive [comments about blackface](http://time.com/5432303/megyn-kelly-blackface-reactions/), NBC News has announced that it has canceled [Kelly](http://time.com/5432595/megyn-kelly-blackface-apology/)‘s 9 a.m. hour of the _Today_ Show, _Megyn Kelly Today_. “Megyn Kelly Today is not returning,” an NBC News spokesperson said in a statement. “Next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other TODAY co-anchors.” Kelly came under fire earlier this week for saying that she doesn’t understand why [blackface](http://time.com/5296843/drake-blackface-photo-pusha-t/) [Halloween costumes](http://time.com/5429462/best-halloween-costumes-2018/) are racist during a roundtable discussion on offensive costumes on her talk show, _Megyn Kelly_ _Today_. “What is racist?” she asked a panel that included Jenna Bush Hager, Jacob Soboroff and Melissa Rivers. “You do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween, or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was okay just as long as you were dressing as a character.” She later apologized in an email to colleagues, writing that she was rethinking her views. “I realize now that such behavior is indeed wrong, and I am sorry,” she wrote. “The history of blackface in our culture is abhorrent; the wounds too deep.” > [](https://twitter.com/TomKludt/status/1054819577836781568) However, several of Kelly’s NBC colleagues, including _Today_ show hosts Craig Melvin and Al Roker, denounced her comments on Wednesday. “The fact is, she owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the county,” [Roker said](https://people.com/tv/al-roker-blasts-megyn-kelly-blackface-comments/) while discussing the incident with Melvin and Savannah Guthrie on _Today_. “This is a history, going back to the 1830s \[with\] minstrel shows. To demean and denigrate a race wasn’t right. I’m old enough to have lived through _Amos ‘n’ Andy_ where you had white people in blackface playing two black characters just magnifying the stereotypes about black people. And that’s what the big problem is…No good comes from it. It’s just not right.” Kelly then apologized on-air during Wednesday’s _Megyn Kelly Today_. “I defended the idea, saying as long as it was respectful and part of a Halloween costume, it seemed okay. Well, I am wrong and I am sorry,” she said. > [](https://twitter.com/MegynTODAY/status/1055084273420722176) On Wednesday night, [_The Hollywood Reporter_](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/megyn-kelly-dropped-by-caa-1154923)reported that Kelly had not only parted ways with talent agency CAA, but also hired a Hollywood litigator. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5434993/megyn-kelly-today-cancelled/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5434993/megyn-kelly-today-cancelled/"},"headline":"NBC News Cancels Megyn Kelly Today Following Blackface Controversy","datePublished":"2018-10-26T17:38:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:55:39.682Z","description":"Kelly's future at the network is uncertain","url":"https://time.com/5434993/megyn-kelly-today-cancelled/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","TV","Megyn Kelly","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1ca300462585bd0/69893d7c8fd2ee16e535cf83/megyn-kelly-statement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1ca300462585bd0/69893d7c8fd2ee16e535cf83/megyn-kelly-statement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Megyn-Kelly-Statement","caption":"Megyn Kelly hosts Megyn Kelly Today on Monday, October 1, 2018","creditText":"Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5434993/megyn-kelly-today-cancelled/","name":"NBC News Cancels Megyn Kelly Today Following Blackface Controversy"}}]}] ```