Megyn Kelly Back In Spotlight With Drudge Report She “May” Move To CNN
FNC star Megyn Kelly is back in the news this morning with a Matt Drudge report saying she “may” jump to CNN, citing an unnamed source who reports CNN chief Jeff Zucker really wants her and that, should she move to that cable news net she might also star in a movie for CNN-sibling Warner Bros.
Kelly’s contract with Fox News Channel is coming up in 2017. Her out-of-network reps declined to comment when contacted by Deadline; ditto CNN. FNC did not respond to a request for comment.
Drudge reports Kelly “refused” to promote her book on FNC shows hosted by Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, with whom Kelly has famously feuded of late, though she later posed for a kiss-and-make-up photo with Hannity after their October squabble, in which she accused him of being Donald Trump’s safe zone and he accused her of being in the tank for Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile, while out plugging her book, “Settle for More,” Kelly claimed hers is the No. 1 rated cable news program in this country, explaining that O’Reilly show, which gets bigger numbers, is an opinion show, not a news program.
Maybe more to the point, Kelly last month became the first-ever Fox News star to guest on not one but two CNN primetime programs, visiting Anderson Cooper’s show on a Wednesday, and Don Lemon’s the next night, to promote her just-released celebrity memoir, as news audiences wait to see whether she is going to accept a change of assignment. “Love-fest” would not be overstating her two nights on CNN, whose chief Zucker has made no attempt to hide his interest in Kelly, describing her as a “tremendous news anchor” for whom the news industry is now her oyster.
Same week Kelly was kicking the tires at CNN, her Fox News colleague Bill O’Reilly was scolding her on CBS This Morning. In answer to a question from Norah O’Donnell, O’Reilly suggested Kelly is being disloyal and making Fox News look bad in writing about the sexual harassment allegations that led to the July exit of its chief Roger Ailes. “I’m not interested in basically litigating something that is finished that makes my network look bad, OK?” O’Reilly snarled, leaning in toward O’Donnell. “I’m not interested in making my network look bad, at all. That doesn’t interest me. One. Bit.”
“I think Roger Ailes is making the company look bad,” Kelly shot back, flashing her million-dollar smile, when she stopped by the CBS show later in the week and was given the chance to respond.
O’Reilly took another crack at Kelly that night on The O’Reilly Factor, aka Kelly’s lead-in show. “If somebody is paying you a wage, you owe that person or company allegiance,” O’Reilly said. “You don’t like what’s happening in the workplace, go to human resources or leave,” he said, never using her name.
Maybe the most tantalizing feature of Drudge’s Megyn Kelly report this morning is the accompanying play-along poll, asking if FNC or CNN would be the “best move” for Megyn. Voting was happening at the brisk pace characteristic of Drudge polls, but this poll was holding steady at time of writing with about 69% opting for a jump to CNN – because who doesn’t love a good TV news dust-up?
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