Megyn Kelly’s “Today” debut was as live as it gets on Monday, but her first morning out got mixed reviews, almost immediately from the early responder news sites and on social media.
The former Fox News anchor has been a hot topic over the past few weeks as the launch of her NBC morning show loomed, while her "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly" suffered a serious ratings drop.
Critics pounced as she made that final part of her leap to NBC from Fox, just across the street.
Time said Kelly failed to connect while spending most of her first appearance trying to convince viewers that she was not the person that many remembered from years back, when she focused on political coverage.
"The truth is, I'm kind of done with politics for now," Kelly said in a lengthy opening monologue, per Time in a blunt piece. "It's everywhere, everywhere, and I'm just like, it's over."
CNN said Kelly delivered an awkward performance, trying to reinvent herself in the vein of an Oprah Winfrey or Ellen DeGeneres.
She opened the segment with a full biography of herself, which included a candid discussion about her father’s sudden death during her teenage years.
However, in Kelly’s defense, CNN did note that she was a polished interviewer who was working hard at being herself.
The Hollywood Reporter said Kelly’s first episode “felt like something of a coming-out party for the new, warmer Kelly,” which was very much in line with her intentions to host a show that was “light on politics but heavy on inspiration and fun.”
Kelly celebrated the wrap of her show’s debut with a post on Twitter, which garnered mixed reactions from viewers.
Many responded positively, with words of praise.
Others were more critical.
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