Megyn Kelly is returning to Fox News Channel – briefly.
Tucker Carlson has scheduled an interview Wednesday with the former Fox News and NBC News anchor, who will make her first appearance on her former employer’s programming since leaving in early 2017. The “Tucker Carlson Tonight” segment would also mark Kelly’s first appearance on a TV-news outlet since cutting ties with NBCUniversal in January.
The announcement is certain to spark a flurry of questions as to whether Fox News is considering bringing Kelly, once one of its most-watched primetime hosts, back to its schedule – particularly in the wake of the recent departure of veteran anchor Shepard Smith. When asked if executives at the Fox Corporation-owned network expected Kelly to make other appearances on its air, the network said in a statement: “Megyn Kelly’s forthcoming guest appearance on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ was coordinated weeks ago and is a one-time occurrence. Any future programming changes we are considering do not involve her.”
Kelly could not be reached for immediate comment. The most recent post in her Twitter feed, put up in the hour before Carlson’s show came on the air at 8 p.m., was a picture of a roaring fireplace hearth.
Carlson said he planned to interview Kelly about media bias, drawing on her experiences at NBC News. It is not clear whether Kelly is bound by a non-disparagement agreement. She and NBCU parted under less-than-amicable terms, with the company canceling her “Megyn Kelly Today” after she conducted a segment in October of 2018 about people dressing for Halloween in blackface and asking whether or not such an act is considered racist. She apologized for the remarks live on air the following day.
She exited NBCUniversal free to talk to other companies about employment, according to people familiar with the agreement. And she is believed to have wallked away from the deal with the amount she was promised when first joined. Various reports put her annual salary at NBCU at anywhere from $17 million to something in the low $20-million range. Her three-year deal had previously been expected to end in early 2020.
Carlson has defended Kelly in past broadcasts of his program.