If Megyn Kelly expected to be walking away from controversy-laced spotlights upon her exit from Fox News, then she's probably surprised to be so mired down by backlashes and bipartisan chiding over her first weeks back on the air for NBC's Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly. Her debut interview with Vladimir Putin earned her just such a backlash, though, and this Sunday night's talk with the scandal-causing Infowars host Alex Jones has gone beyond just verbal criticisms as Sunday Night has already lost its first advertisers, and one organization has removed Kelly as a host for an upcoming event.
Alex Jones is widely known for his baffling conspiratorial claims that purposefully stoke the anger and paranoia of whoever's listening, with one of his most popular (and heinous) boasts being that the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary shootings were just a hoax. Many are having trouble understanding why NBC and Megyn Kelly would provide such a massive platform for Jones to direct his malarkey, and J.P. Morgan Chase has reportedly requested for its advertising to be pulled from all NBC News shows until after the Sunday evening interview, according to the Wall Street Journal. And if it wasn't already implied, the company specifically did not want any of its ads to air alongside any promos for Jones' interview.
It appears that several within J.P. Morgan Chase's ranks were not pleased with any aspect of Alex Jones getting screen time on a major broadcast network. The company's chief marketing officer, Kristin Lemkau, took to Twitter and (showcasing her status as an advertiser) called Megyn Kelly out for doing the interview in the first place. No lack of transparency at J.P. Morgan in some areas.
Additionally, the gun violence prevention organization Sandy Hook Promise announced that Megyn Kelly is no longer being invited to host its annual Promise Champions Gala, which is being held on Wednesday night, June 14, in Washington D.C. The timing on that is crazy, and its last minute-ness speaks to how important it was for Sandy Hook Promise to pull their support away from Kelly over her show's rabble-rousing next subject. The organization's managing director also asked for NBC to consider not airing the interview.
For a new and highly anticipated show, Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly has already caused way more negative chatter than one might have expected. Her Fox News presence was a big one, and was made all the more in-focus during the last presidential election, so NBC has banked hard on her being a thriving magnet for viewership. It's hard to know who thought it would be a great idea to get Alex Jones in the interviewee seat for the third episode, but if those kinds of decisions keep passing the bar, NBC may be facing more problems in the future.
Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly airs Sunday nights on NBC at 7:00 p.m. ET, and you probably already remember who her guest will be. To see what other new and returning shows are hitting the small screen soon, head to our summer TV premiere schedule.
