The actress Megyn Kelly tweeted on Saturday that she and her husband Douglas Brunt had taken in ‘Network’ on Broadway in New York City, a show about a television anchor facing the loss of his job due to low ratings.
This ironic choice of entertainment follows Kelly’s night out with Brunt at Elio’s restaurant in Manhattan on Friday, as negotiations over her impending departure from NBC continue.
In October, Kelly was abruptly removed from the air as a result of her offensive comments regarding Halloween costumes that included blackface.
In lieu of preparing stories and covering important political moments like Tuesday’s midterm election, the former Fox News host is now filling her nights and days with Broadway shows, romantic dinners, and errands instead of prepping stories and covering important political moments.
According to reports, Kelly signed a three-year contract with NBC in 2017, leaving NBC to decide what kind of severance package to offer the host who was paid a combined $69 million.
NBC’s Megyn Kelly and her husband Douglas Brunt saw the Broadway production Network, about a TV anchor facing termination until an emotional outburst appears to save the day, ironically as her exit negotiations with NBC progress.
‘@DougBrunt & I thoroughly enjoyed “Network” on Broadway tonight,’ Kelly tweeted late on Saturday night.
‘@BryanCranston was brilliant, as he is in everything. A lot of wisdom in this one.’
In the Playbill description of the play, the following comments are provided regarding the curious choice of entertainment:
“Based on the 1970s film of the same name, Network tells the story of a television anchor about to lose his job due to low ratings. When his emotions lead to an on-air outburst, the ratings skyrocket and Beale has a chance to deliver a meaningful message to his viewers. Originally written for the screen as a satire, the play—in an adaptiation by Lee Hall—is anything but for a 2018 audience.”
As she strolled hand-in-hand with her husband in New York on Friday, Kelly appeared equally unbothered by the drama surrounding the future of her career.
@DougBrunt and I had a great time watching “Network” on Broadway tonight. I found @BryanCranston to be brilliant, as he is in everything he does. Late on Saturday night, Kelly tweeted, “A lot of wisdom in this one.”
Aside from her tongue-in-cheek tweet, Kelly appeared equally unbothered by the drama surrounding her career on Friday, smiling sweetly at her husband as they strolled hand-in-hand through Manhattan.
In the cool evening, Kelly wore leather pants with an animal-print jacket to add even more interest to her outfit. With her free hand, she grasped a clutch while wearing a dark top beneath her coat and accessorized with large hoop earrings.
Keeping with the blue theme, Brunt wore denim pants and a button-down shirt in the same hue under a blazer in a slightly darker shade.
Before Kelly was ousted from Today by the network’s executives for her blackface comments earlier this week, she was originally scheduled to appear in NBC’s midterm election coverage. On this cool night, Kelly wore leather pants, accompanied by an animal-print jacket, a dark top underneath her coat, and large hoop earrings to create a stylish look.
On Friday night, Kelly and Brunt dined at Elio’s restaurant (center) in Manhattan. In October, Kelly was abruptly removed from the air by NBC following comments she made pertaining to the use of blackface in Halloween costumes. Kelly later apologized for the offensive remarks.
On Tuesday, instead of sitting behind the anchor desk with her colleagues, she spent part of her day unloading an SUV in front of her home with her husband.
In the rainy New York day, the two men unloaded groceries and a car seat as voters headed to the polls in droves to participate in the heated elections. Back in September, NBC announced Kelly would be a key part of their election night coverage.
As part of NBC’s midterm coverage, she appeared in a promotional photo along with Lester Holt of the Nightly News, Savannah Guthrie of Today and Chuck Todd of Meet the Press. On Tuesday, Kelly and her husband Brunt were spotted unloading groceries from an SUV near their New York City home on election day.
There is quite a bit to unpack here: Kelly was expecting to be the face of NBC’s special election night coverage until she was unseated for making insensitive comments about blackface.
During the major midterm coverage day, Kelly unpacked the SUV rather than sitting alongside prominent NBC hosts such as Lester Holt of the network’s Nightly News, Savannah Guthrie of Today, Chuck Todd of Meet the Press and revered anchor Tom Brokaw.
In the network’s midterm coverage promo, the network featured an enormous star that was previously covered by a fallen star.
Unfortunately, veteran anchor Tom Brokaw was also victimized in the cover-up, as he was seated to the left of Megyn Kelly; From left to right: Tom Brokaw, Megyn Kelly, Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Chuck Todd and Andrea Mitchell.
In light of the fact that the shot was already perfected and circulated, NBC had to remove her image from the promo.
When faced with the dilemma of how to remove Kelly from the anchor desk, the station opted to completely cover her with a massive digital graphic featuring a star that read, “The Vote: America’s Future”.
Additionally, Tom Brokaw was covered due to his unfortunate location. The only host seated to Kelly’s left was him. Due to limited options, NBC chose to place the star over the revered anchor.
On Monday, a video advertisement featuring the edited promo was released. As part of its live broadcast of ‘The Vote: America’s Future’, only Holt, Guthrie, and Todd were seen at the desk.
On Tuesday night, Kelly was scheduled to introduce NBC’s midterm election coverage before she was abruptly fired from the network following her remarks regarding blackface. A round-table discussion with the NBC heavyweights was hosted by Kelly (left) in September.
After making comments defending racist Halloween attire, Kelly apologized to viewers and colleagues, resulting in an immediate backlash, which led NBC to remove her from the air entirely.
As part of her eponymous one-hour block of the Today show, Megyn Kelly Today, Kelly made the offending remarks during a roundtable discussion regarding inappropriate and offensive costumes.
As she said during the segment, when she was a child, white people dressed up as black characters was acceptable, and she spoke out against the controversy that erupted over a reality star portraying Diana Ross last year.
The question is, what constitutes racism? Kelly inquired. ‘Because you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface on Halloween, or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween.
‘Back when I was a kid that was OK, as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character’. US Weekly reports that Kelly texted Luann de Lesseps to apologize for her reference to her Diana Ross costume (shown) in the panel regarding blackface that led to her dismissal from Today.
During the discussion, Kelly brought up Luann de Lesseps, who became a target of backlash last year after dressing as Ross on The Real Housewives of New York.
A number of observers were outraged at Kelly’s comments, and others noted that there was no person of color on the panel. As well, there was no mention of the ugly history of blackface, a tradition that spans centuries and perpetuates racist stereotypes.
As of now, negotiations between Kelly and the station regarding her departure have dragged on for several weeks.
In the current negotiations between Kelly and NBC, there is an all-out war over money and whether Kelly will sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of her departure. A source close to Kelly stated that there is an all-out war between Kelly and NBC.
“She doesn’t just want the remainder of her $69 million contract, she wants more money on top as compensation for what she believes is NBC’s attempt to not just have her off the air but to end her career.”
According to an NBC source with knowledge of the situation, Kelly is also refusing to sign an NDA unless her monetary demands are met, but a source close to Kelly claims it is not the money that is at issue.
Fox News terminated Kelly’s contract in 2017 after she signed a $23 million annual contract with NBC.
