NBC host Megyn Kelly caved under a barrage of criticism for questioning whether it is racist to dress up in blackface for Halloween — apologizing to coworkers and confessing she came to "rethink my own views."
In an email sent to colleagues and released by NBC News, Kelly said "I realize now that such behavior is indeed wrong, and I am sorry."
"The history of blackface in our culture is abhorrent; the wounds too deep," she said in the email, NBC News reported.
In the roundtable segment, Kelly asked her panelists "what is racist" about white people wearing blackface during Halloween, adding it was considered OK when she was a kid "as long you were dressing up as a character."
She also defended reality TV star Luann de Lesseps, who darkened her skin for her Diana Ross costume in 2017.
"If she wants to look like Diana Ross for one day, I don't know how that got racist for Halloween," Kelly said. "It's not like she's walking around in general."
But her guests disagreed — and so did Twitter.
Actor Patton Oswalt tweeted blackface was "NOT okay" when they were kids, while stand-up comic W. Kamau Bell chided in all caps, "kids, never forget Santa Claus is white."
Another poster mocked Kelly as "proof that being book smart doesn't prevent you from being an ignorant moron."
In her email, Kelly said she welcomed the opposing views.
"Today is one of those days where listening carefully to other points of view, including from friends and colleagues, is leading me to rethink my own views," she wrote.
"This is a time for more understanding, love, sensitivity and honor, and I want to be part of that," she added. "I look forward to continuing that discussion."
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