Anchorwoman Megyn Kelly’s segment of "The Today Show" won’t return to NBC's television lineup, the network said in a statement on Friday. “Next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other 'Today' co-anchors," NBC tweeted.
Earlier on Friday, reports citing sources close to the situation indicated that NBC News and Kelly were in talks about the anchor leaving the network.
Previously, TMZ reported, citing sources familiar with the negotiations, that Kelly had been fired from the morning program and is seeking $50 million in compensation for her departure. The news has been widely discussed online.
Bryan Freedman, a lawyer for Kelly, is reportedly preparing meet with NBC representatives to demand the network pay the full remainder of Kelly's salary or face a lawsuit over what he referred to as “gross unfairness.” Kelly signed a three-year contract with the network in 2017, and nearly two years are still left before it's up.
The controversy around Kelly’s reported departure from NBC was fueled by her remarks earlier this week that she didn’t grasp why wearing blackface had blatantly racist connotations. She and her guests were discussing Halloween costumes on her show at the time.
"But what is racist? 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 whiteface for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was okay, as long as you were dressing up like a character,” she said.
She later apologized for her remarks, claiming she had realized how offensive they were.
READ MORE: NBC's Megyn Kelly Apologizes for Defending Blackface, Still Flayed by Twitter