A little while back, Megyn Kelly sparked social-media backlash in a discussion on her “Megyn Kelly Today” about Halloween celebrants wearing black or white face makeup. Kelly wondered aloud during a conversation about universities putting pressure on students not to wear costumes that might be deemed offensive.
“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.”
The backlash forced NBC to axe “Megyn Kelly Today,” and reports surfaced that Kelly agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement with the network for $10 million.
Now, however, Kelly’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, accused NBC News of allowing the media to run false reports about the former “Megyn Kelly Today” show host’s settlement discussions.
“Out of respect for the discussions, I am not going to share more details, but any suggestion that Megyn is looking for more than her contract is untrue,” Freedman said in a statement to Us Weekly on Oct. 31. “This is clearly planted by NBC News to continue its mission to harm Megyn and gain some sort of leverage. It won’t work. [NBC executive] Andy Lack needs to stop.”
“Despite my efforts to handle this process confidentially, NBC News is allowing the media to run with completely false and irresponsible reports that disparage Megyn by erroneously claiming she has ever asked for more money than her contract requires,” Freedman added.
A spokesperson for NBC News responded Freedman’s claims, saying, “Unlike Mr. Freedman, who has repeatedly commented to the media throughout the negotiations, we respect the confidentiality of the process, and will have no comment until it reaches its conclusion.”
Kelly, who apologized for her blackface remarks in an email to her colleagues and on-air on Oct. 24, has yet to comment on what will become of her next.
By: Maytinee Kramer
