Megyn Kelly will not be joining the rest of the Today show personalities for the 2018 Winter Olympics coverage, and a network insider reveals the reason behind NBC’s decision exclusively to Us Weekly.
Earlier this month it was revealed that Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie will be leading Today coverage in South Korea starting in February and they will be joined by NBC’s Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Willie Geist, Craig Melvin and Dylan Dreyer. Meanwhile, Kelly, 47, is set to continue hosting Megyn Kelly Today at her usual 9 a.m. hour on weekdays and Deadline reported on January 12 that she will be interviewing athletes and covering the Pyeongchang Games stateside.
The former Fox News host’s segment has been doing well since she started covering sexual harassment issues, and the source tells Us that’s part of the reason why Kelly isn’t traveling to South Korea. “The show is experiencing such momentum that it just made sense to keep it in New York with Kathie Lee and Jenna Bush Hager to follow at 10 a.m.,” the source says, adding that there’s “zero” tension over the decision.
Recently, Kelly has been covering the sexual misconduct allegations that have hit Hollywood and has invited several women to share their stories on her show.
“She was game to do whatever the network bosses felt was best but felt very strongly about staying in New York given the topics her show has been covering,” the insider tells Us of Kelly. “She didn’t want to miss out on another big exclusive by being overseas since her show has been leading the way on #MeToo interviews.”
The insider adds: “Her show notched over 3 million viewers on Monday.”
Kelly will also be participating in President Donald Trump‘s first State of the Union address on January 30. NBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics is set to begin on Thursday, February 8.
