After 12 years at Fox News, Megyn Kelly plans to leave the network in favor of a “broad new role” at NBC, the New York Times reports. Kelly, who was wooed for an undisclosed amount, will host her own daytime show, anchor a Sunday-night news show and participate in political programming and big-event coverage.
The Times notes that Fox had offered Kelly more than $20 million to stay on after her contract expires, and that rival networks weren’t able to match that amount, suggesting Kelly’s decision to ditch Fox—the most-watched cable news network in 2016—was based on non-financial considerations; she’s hinted that she’d like to spend more time with her family. It’s not clear when she will start at NBC, as her contract with Fox won’t technically end until the summer. (Update: Kelly’s spokeswoman told CNNMoney that her last day on Fox will be this Friday.)
This year, Kelly has publicly sparred with colleagues Sean Hannity—who accused her of supporting Hillary Clinton after Kelly implied, correctly, that Hannity is not a journalist—and Bill O’Reilly, who criticized her for revealing that she was sexually harassed by former Fox News chief Roger Ailes. She’s also been rather at odds with the President-Elect, who she implied in her book (and reportedly wondered aloud to colleagues) may have poisoned her coffee prior to the first GOP primary debate. (It should not be forgotten that by going to NBC, Kelly is also joining a network that helped revive Donald Trump’s relevance in our daily lives.)
Although recently Kelly has occasionally dipped her toes into pseudo-feminist waters (while loudly assuring all that she is not a feminist), she’s also spent a hell of a lot of time theorizing about Benghazi and demanding the public accept that Santa Claus is white; she also, notably, withheld newsworthy information on Trump for her book, which was published after the election. It remains to be seen what version of herself Megyn Kelly will bring to NBC.
Update: Kelly released a statement on her move:
As did Fox News’ Rupert Murdoch:
