Fox, NBC, and now SiriusXM — the ever-controversial Megyn Kelly really
has done it all. But what does she actually think of her time at the Peacock network?
Megyn Kelly is one of the most successful journalists in the industry, but she's certainly
no stranger to controversies in the workplace. For years, Kelly enjoyed a successful career at
Fox News, which earned her numerous accolades — including a spot on Time's 100 Most Influential
People list in 2014. In fact, Kelly was the only woman in the media who made the list that year.
In 2017, Kelly decided to take her career in a different direction,
opting to leave her longtime employer to fill the 9 a.m. time slot on NBC's Today show instead.
"This was a tough decision for me, because I love this show,
our staff, my crew, my colleagues here at Fox."
During an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show",
Kelly explained why she chose to jump networks in the first place. She said:
"I was never a political person, I wasn't raised in a political household,
and it became clear to me it wasn't what I wanted to do; it's not who I am."
Kelly also claimed that Donald Trump played a role in her decision to leave, adding:
"But it has a way of pulling you in,
over and over and over. And then that becomes your life, and that's not the life I wanted."
Of course, money could have also played a role in Kelly's decision to jump ship from
Fox News. NBC reports that her contract with the network was worth $69 million over three
years. After leaving her position at Fox, Kelly refused to mince words regarding how she felt
about her time working there. The star spoke with Business Insider about her time there,
which she apparently disliked for several reasons. Kelly said:
"I had this soaring career at Fox that was great by any measure, but I was miserable at home."
Kelly also said that her Fox gig proved "too stressful" and took too much time away from
her family. But NBC wasn't that much better, it seems, and Kelly later claimed it was,
in her words, a little too "soft." Of course, we all know by this point that things between
Kelly and NBC did not end well. In 2018, she faced backlash after expressing her
opinions on why she didn't think "blackface" Halloween costumes should be deemed as racist.
"Good morning everyone, I'm Megyn Kelly, and I wanna start the show with two words: "I'm sorry."
Many people, including network execs, felt that was the final straw in Kelly's tenure,
and it was soon reported that Kelly would not be returning to the network.
While Megyn Kelly left NBC on bad terms, her woes with the network didn't end when the network
ousted her. After the fallout settled, the conservative star and NBC worked to
figure out the logistics of the payout of her lucrative $69 million contract,
since she didn't last for the duration of the three-year deal. In 2019,
NBC reported that the network paid Kelly the remainder of her $69 million payout — which
amounted to approximately $30 million. At the time, NBC issued a statement that read:
"The parties have resolved their differences, and Megyn Kelly is no longer an employee of NBC."
But NBC was not the final gig of Kelly's career, and she didn't have much trouble
finding work. In 2021, it was reported that the star inked a deal with SiriusXM
for a weekday talk show, fittingly titled "The Megyn Kelly Show". This marked the
conservative host's first full-time gig since she parted ways with NBC,
though she had also launched a successful podcast in the interim. In a statement, Kelly said:
"My team and I have been grateful to see our show, in less than a year,
become one of the most successful podcasts in America — proving that there is a thirst
for open, honest, and more meaningful conversations about current events."
Here's the question, though: Is Kelly happier now than she was before? Well,
apparently, she believes that she has found her niche on her
radio show. Speaking to Business Insider about "The Megyn Kelly Show", she said:
"Now I feel like I have the best of both worlds. I'm fired up and making a difference."