Today hosts call Megyn Kelly's defense of blackface 'ignorant and racist'

Megyn Kelly's controversial defense of blackface is now earning her sharp condemnation from her own Today colleagues.

During a Today segment on Wednesday, host Craig Melvin called Kelly's argument that wearing blackface on Halloween is okay "ignorant and racist." Kelly on Tuesday said on air that blackface is fine as long as it's part of a costume, and suggested that people who think it's racist are just being too sensitive.

Melvin pushed back on that idea, calling Kelly's comments "stupid" and "indefensible." During the same segment, Al Roker agreed and felt that Kelly's internal apology to NBC staffers didn't go far enough. "She owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country," said Roker. The hosts also discussed the history of blackface in the United States being used to propagate horrible stereotypes about black people.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Kelly's show came on directly after Today's eviscerating criticism. At the top of Wednesday's broadcast, she again apologized and said that wearing blackface as part of a Halloween costume is not okay. "I want to begin with two words: I'm sorry," she began. She then discussed the history of blackface with two panelists, noting that she now realizes that "a white person darkening her skin even for a costume today evokes that past." Watch Today discuss Kelly's comments below. Brendan Morrow