When the world first learned that Megyn Kelly would be headed to NBC, many wondered how the Fox News firebrand would fit in with at a far more mainstream network.
At first, it didn’t look like Kelly would fare particularly well outside of the right wing bubble in which she’d made a name for herself.
In the first episode of her Sunday night newsmagazine, Kelly interviewed Vladimir Putin, and many accused her of lobbing softball questions at the Russian president.
A few weeks later, Kelly found herself at the center of an even greater controversy when she interviewed Alex Jones, the far-right conspiracy theorist who is perhaps best known for his theories that the Sandy Hook massacre was faked by the government and Hillary Clinton is personally responsible for dozens of murders.
Kelly’s show is currently on hiatus, and with a mixed response from critics and disappointing ratings, its return remains uncertain.
Not helping matters is the fact that Kelly has reportedly made some powerful enemies at her own network.
Many expected that the former lawyer’s political beliefs would bring her into conflict with her co-workers.
But it seems her ego and wild demands have created much larger problems than her ideology.
“People are outraged over her divalike ways,” a network source tells Page Six.
“They wonder, ‘When does NBC stop throwing money at her?’”
It seems despite the fact that NBC has hired a full-time staff for Kelly’s show and spent an outrageous sum of money building a new studio space, the 43-year-old anchor is far from satisfied.
Sources say she’s poached staff from the Today show and insisted on barnstorming in “real America” cities such as Dallas and Denver in order to shore up support for her fledgling series.
“She’s working sunup to sundown every day — some days, two cities a day,” says the source.
Another NBC insider insists there’s nothing out of the ordinary about the work Kelly’s doing in order to save her show, telling Page Six:
“It’s a standard affiliates tour, which many new NBC News anchors have done before her. There’s huge excitement for ‘Megyn Kelly Today’ in these markets, and it’s a great thing that the show is covering people and places outside of New York City.”
As is so often the case with this sort of thing, we’re left with two conflicting versions of events.
We may never know for certain which is more accurate, but if Kelly’s show doesn’t appear on NBC’s fall schedule, the absence will speak volumes.
