Megyn Kelly will leave Fox News for a new role at NBC News in a deal that includes hosting a daytime talk show and a new Sunday night magazine series, NBCUniversal News Group chairman Andrew Lack announced Tuesday.
The one-hour daytime show will air weekdays and is expected to launch later this year, along with the new Sunday night news magazine show. In addition, the 12-year veteran of Fox News is expected to contribute to NBC’s breaking news coverage as well as political and special events coverage.
Kelly — who has been with Fox News for 12 years — hosts “The Kelly File,” which is among the most-watched shows on cable TV. Her last day at the station will be this Friday, the network announced
“We thank Megyn Kelly for her 12 years of contributions to Fox News,” 21st Century Fox executive chairman Rupert Murdoch said in a statement. “We hope she enjoys tremendous success in her career and wish her and her family all the best.”
“Megyn is an exceptional journalist and news anchor, who has had an extraordinary career” Lack said in a statement on Tuesday. “She’s demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and we’re lucky to have her.”
Details about both of Kelly’s news programs will be unveiled in the coming months, according to NBC.
Kelly has been a Fox News star for several years, but emerged as a household name when she feuded with President-elect Donald Trump during the 2015-16 GOP primary. It was a one-sided feud, with Trump attacking Kelly on Twitter because he did not like a question she asked regarding his treatment of women during a Republican primary debate on Fox News. Kelly did not publicly fight back, but former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes defended her throughout the ordeal.
Trump eventually skipped a debate over the ordeal, but the two made up and Kelly interviewed Trump for a special on Fox broadcast. Meanwhile, Ailes has since stepped down in disgrace after numerous women, including Kelly, have come forward with accusations of sexual assault.
The Times reported that Kelly was offered more than $20 million per year to stay at Fox News, where she finished 2016 as the second most-watched host in cable news, behind only lead-in Bill O’Reilly.
Back in November, Kelly jabbed O’Reilly during an event to promote her book, “Settle for More.”
She said that O’Reilly might have the No. 1 show on cable news, but she has the No. 1 “news show” on cable news.
“His is an opinion show and there is a difference because, let me tell you, as a news person sometimes its harder to put ratings on the board because you just report the news,” Kelly said. “If the news is boring, it’s boring.”
Megyn Kelly's 9 Biggest Moments at Fox News, From 2012 Election to Trump Debate (Videos)
After 13 years as one of Fox News' most prominent faces, Megyn Kelly is moving to NBC. Her career has been one filled with viral interviews and high-profile moments, from questioning conservative pundits to intense debates about race to encounters with Donald Trump (weeks before he announced his candidacy in 2015).
After six years as a contributor and substitute anchor, Kelly finally became a full-time Fox News host in 2010. But her breakthrough moment came on Election Night 2012, when she questioned Karl Rove about why he wouldn't accept the network's analysts who called the election for Barack Obama .
This led to Kelly taking matters into her own hands, leaving the set and walking through the hallways of the Fox News to ask the analysts at the decision desk for their reasoning behind calling the race for Obama.
Kelly also had a history of locking horns with the right's major talking heads. In 2013, when Lou Dobbs and Erick Erickson attacked a Pew study that found that 40 percent of women are now the major breadwinners for their households, Kelly called them out.
Kelly also got into a major spat with Newt Gingrich last year when he accused her of being "fascinated with sex" during a discussion of Donald Trump's sexual assault allegations. She ended the segment with this terse sign off: "We’re going to leave it at that, and you can take your anger issues and spend some time working on them, Mr. Speaker."
Which isn't to say that Megyn Kelly was seen by Fox News' liberal critics as a saving grace for the "fair and balanced" network. She was bashed in 2013 when she responded to the suggestion of a diverse Santa Claus by saying: "For all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white."
She also got into an extremely heated debate about race with actor and author D.L. Hughley in 2016 over the fatal shootings of black men like Philando Castile and the protests that have spawned from them.
Before the 2016 election, Kelly's biggest moment came when she landed an exclusive interview with Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, the stars of "19 Kids and Counting" after a child molestation scandal surrounding their eldest son, Josh Duggar. While the interview was a massive ratings and headline magnet for Fox News, Kelly was criticized for not asking tough questions.
But as Megyn Kelly says goodbye to the house that Rupert Murdoch built, there will always be one moment above all that will define her career: her 2015 face-off with the man who will be the next President of the United States.
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A look back at the anchor’s most famous and notorious on-camera moments
After 13 years as one of Fox News' most prominent faces, Megyn Kelly is moving to NBC. Her career has been one filled with viral interviews and high-profile moments, from questioning conservative pundits to intense debates about race to encounters with Donald Trump (weeks before he announced his candidacy in 2015).
