Megyn Kelly “threw an Olympic fit” when she learned that NBC invited former employee Katie Couric to co-host the opening ceremony of next month’s Winter Olympics, according to the New York Post.
From Fox News:
Citing “television insiders,” the Post reported that Kelly was furious that, following Matt Lauer’s shock defenestration, NBC was calling its biggest star out of retirement rather than drafting Kelly for Olympics duty.
When Lauer still ruled 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Kelly had gracefully declined coverage roles for big occasions — citing a clause in her contract that said she could not be forced to do special events such as the Olympics, the Post reported. But once Lauer was gone, the report continues, Kelly assumed she’d be called to bat. She wasn’t.
“She thought she had it all played out perfectly, by saying ‘no’ before the Matt Lauer scandal. [The network was] stupid enough to put in her contract that she could say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ ” a source told the Post.
Kelly is NBC News’ highest paid star, making about $23 million a year, despite her relatively minor role hosting NBC’s third hour of the “Today” show, now known as “Megyn Kelly Today.”
NBC passing over Kelly for Couric has not gone unnoticed in the halls of Rockefeller Center. An industry insider, who did not want to be named because of a relationship with NBC, told Fox News, which was first to report on the Kelly/Couric contretemps, that the move was “definitely a slap in the face to Megyn” and wondered how she would feel about the decision.
It turns out, the Post reported, that Kelly was irked “on principle” once the gig went to Couric and she made sure that NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack would be aware of her feelings.
Yikes. With all the behind-the-scenes goings on at NBC, this could be just another straw that leads towards breaking the camel’s back as far as Kelly’s show is concerned. While Couric is a long-time face of NBC, Kelly getting pushed aside could be the beginning of the end.
