Megyn Kelly's "Today" show momentum is keeping her from joining NBC coverage in South Korea of the Winter Olympics, Us Weekly reported, citing a source who may have been pushing back at snark from her former employer Fox News.
While NBC announced the "Today" show was sending Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Willie Geist, Craig Melvin and Dylan Dreyer to South Korea for two weeks for the Olympics, it said Kelly will stay in New York City and interview athletes stateside, Deadline.com reported.
In addition, "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt" will also broadcast from the Olympics with a crew of correspondents from Feb. 8 to Feb. 18.
In a story published on Thursday, Us Weekly cited a source saying Kelly's absence at the Olympics wasn’t a dig at her but an effort to keep her 9 a.m. show on the upswing after riding a surge of momentum from her coverage of sexual misconduct related to the #MeToo movement.
"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 told Us Weekly, adding that Kelly welcomed the move.
"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. 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."
Some have questioned the decision by NBC to leave Kelly in New York during the Olympics, with her former employer Fox News calling it an "embarrassment" for her.
NBC also announced that former "Today" show host Katie Couric will cohost the Olympic opening ceremonies with Mike Tirico, Fox News noted.
"It was already bad enough that they weren't sending the star they're paying $23 million a year to Pyeonchang," a source close to NBC told Fox News. "But now they're bringing in a nonemployee to fill a vacancy. Yeah, one wonders what's up with that and how Kelly feels about all of this."
Fox News media analyst Jeffrey McCall called NBC's decision about Kelly and Couric "really confusing."
"There could be several reasons for not putting Megyn Kelly in this role, but surely some other established or up-and-coming NBC personality could manage these duties in a professional fashion," McCall told Fox News. "That would allow NBC to boost the brand of that personality for future high-profile occasions."