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Several hours after she was widely criticized on social media for her remarks, Ms. Kelly sent an apologetic email to her NBC colleagues.
“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. I’ve never been a ‘pc’ kind of person — but I understand that we do need to be more sensitive in this day and age.”
She continued: “Particularly on race and ethnicity issues which, far from being healed, have been exacerbated in our politics over the past year. This is a time for more understanding, love, sensitivity and honor, and I want to be part of that.”
During Ms. Kelly’s rocky tenure at NBC News, she has offended a celebrity guest (the actress Jane Fonda), ruffled network feathers with her coverage of Matt Lauer’s #MeToo scandal and sparked ire over a smiling photograph with an interview subject, the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Ms. Kelly joined NBC after spending more than a decade as an anchor at the Fox News Channel. Her Tuesday morning comments recalled a 2013 on-air discussion, hosted by Ms. Kelly on the race of Santa Claus, that drew widespread criticism. “For all you kids watching at home,” Ms. Kelly said, “Santa just is white.”
In her first year at NBC, Ms. Kelly’s hourlong portion of “Today” averaged 2.4 million viewers, a drop of nearly 400,000 from the same hour’s average before her arrival, according to Nielsen. Ms. Kelly’s show also trailed a rival morning program, “Live With Kelly and Ryan,” by a wide margin.
While Ms. Kelly was sharing her thoughts on blackface on NBC, the “Live” host Kelly Ripa was asking her co-host, Ryan Seacrest, about his predawn workout routine.
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