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Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin and Al Roker filled in for Megyn Kelly during Monday’s third hour of Today. The move came just days after NBC News announced Megyn Kelly Today had been canceled following the host’s comments about blackface.
“Today, as you know, we are starting a new chapter in the third hour of our show,” Kotb said from the show’s studio in New York. “As it evolves, we want you to know that the entire Today family will continue to bring you informative and important stories—just as we always have.”
Last week, Kelly came under fire after she hosted a panel in which she questioned why it was inappropriate for white people to dress up in blackface on Halloween.
“But what is racist? Because, truly, 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,” Kelly said during her discussion with Jenna Bush Hager, Melissa Rivers, and Jacob Soboroff. “Back when I was a kid, that was OK as long as you were dressing up as like a character.”
She also added, “I can’t keep up with the number of people we’re offending just by being normal people these days.”
Kelly later apologized for her remarks via an internal email to her colleagues. She also apologized via an emotional on-air statement.
“I realize now that such behavior is indeed wrong, and I am sorry,” Kelly wrote in part of the email. “The history of blackface in our culture is abhorrent; the wounds too deep.”
NBC News confirmed the show’s cancellation on Friday.
“Megyn Kelly Today is not returning,” an NBC News spokesperson said via a statement to E! News. “Next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other Today co-anchors.”
Kelly has yet to comment on the show’s cancellation.
Several of Kelly’s Today colleagues have spoken out about her comments. Melvin, for instance, called her remarks “indefensible” and Hager called her words “horrifying.”
NBC News has not announced who Kelly’s permanent replacement will be.
(E! and NBC News are both part of NBCUniversal).
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