Journalist Megyn Kelly took aim at NBC for its shows showing characters in blackface.
Kelly, who parted ways with NBC after a blackface controversy, blasted the network over a report that Netflix pulled an episode from NBC’s Community sitcom titled “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” on its streaming service, the latest move resulting from increased backlash to blackface appearing in shows such as Scrubs, Saturday Night Live, and 30 Rock.
“Turns out NBC loves blackface!” Kelly tweeted on Saturday. “Jimmy Fallon, Fred Armisen, Tina Fey, Ted Danson, Jane Krakowski, John Hamm, Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Ken Jeong, Julianne Hough,” she added, referring to a list of some comedians facing scrutiny for using blackface in their routines.
Turns out NBC loves blackface!
Jimmy Fallon, Fred Armisen, Tina Fey, Ted Danson, Jane Krakowski, John Hamm, Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Ken Jeong, Julianne Hough … https://t.co/a1DcO3hCM9
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 27, 2020
Kelly, who was a prime-time anchor at Fox News before moving to NBC, was ousted from her Today show gig on the network in 2018 after defending the use of blackface during Halloween.
“Isn’t the whole purpose of Halloween to dress up and pretend you are something other than yourself?” Kelly said, questioning bans on controversial costumes.
“What is racist?” she said. “You truly do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface at 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,” she noted as an exception.
Facing intense criticism for the comments, Kelly apologized.
“I was wrong, and I am sorry,” she said. “One of the great parts of sitting in this chair each day is getting to discuss different points of view. Sometimes I talk; sometimes I listen. And yesterday, I learned.”
Kelly split from NBC in January 2019 with all of her $69 million three-year contract.
