New York (CNN Business) Megyn Kelly and NBC News executives are negotiating the terms of her departure from the news division. 
 
 Her exit is not official yet, but it is likely to be announced in the days ahead, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. 
 
 Kelly will not be returning to her 9 a.m. show "Megyn Kelly Today," the sources confirmed. 
 
 There had been speculation that she would remain with the network in a lesser role -- but the sources said that's not happening. 
 
 Earlier on Thursday, when multiple news outlets reported that Kelly is leaving NBC altogether, Kelly's spokesman Davidson Goldin responded by saying that NBC has not been in touch with Kelly or her representatives. 
 
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 CLOSE A source at the show confirms to USA TODAY there's an expectation that her hour of the "Today" show will be canceled. USA TODAY 
 
 Could "Megyn Kelly Today" be off the air after just a year? (Photo: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) 
 
 Megyn Kelly is negotiating her exit from NBC after less than two years, the network confirmed Friday morning on "Today." 
 
 "This morning, NBC News host Megyn Kelly is in talks with the network about her imminent departure," Morgan Radford said during the news segment, citing a person familiar with the situation. 
 
 Meanwhile, the embattled host, who offended viewers and colleagues when she excusing the use of blackface Halloween costumes Tuesday, got a show of support from her colleagues at Fox News. However, the network itself indicated it's unlikely to take back the woman who was once the star of its primetime lineup. 
 
 In an Instagram post on Thursday, Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean defended the "Megyn Kelly Today" host and longtime friend against accusations of racism. 
 
 “My friend @megynkelly is not a racist,” Dean wrote. “Those close to her know her heart. She’s a good person, a wonderful mom, wife, sister, friend and human being. She didn’t deserve this.” 
 
 Meanwhile, Geraldo Rivera, a correspondent for Fox News, noted he’s long had a close relationship with Kelly and while he was appalled by her comments, he believes she was unfairly skewered for her misstep. 
 
 “You know, Megyn was my colleague, and a dear friend … I was very disappointed when she left Fox News,” he told Us Weekly in a video interview. “She had a rocky road at NBC. What she said about blackface was grotesque. It was indefensible in many ways, but you know, people make mistakes. 
 
 “She said something stupid, but she didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings, she was just telling the truth about how she was raised and how things were back in the day. I think she was really given the short end of the stick and I think she was scapegoated.” 
 
 While Kelly may have the support of some of her former coworkers, the same can’t be said for the network she used to call home. When reached for comment regarding whether Fox News would consider bringing Kelly back on the air, the network told USA TODAY there isn’t room for Kelly right now in the conservative news channel’s prime-time lineup, which now features Tucker Carlson at 8 EDT, Sean Hannity at 9 and Laura Ingraham at 10. 
 
 “We are extremely happy with our entire line-up,” a spokesperson for Fox News stated. 
 
 More: What did Megyn Kelly say?! 4 more times the journalist stirred up controversyK 
 
 The Hollywood Reporter and NBC News reported on Friday that representatives for Kelly are meeting with executives at NBC on Friday to discuss her future. 
 
 Meanwhile, her hour of the “Today” show hangs in the balance. On Thursday and Friday, reruns of “Megyn Kelly Today” aired in place of live episodes. 
 
 In January 2017, Kelly exited Fox News after more than a decade and announced she was headed to NBC, where she signed a contract estimated to be worth $20 million per year. After a showcase first interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in which he claimed that Jews, Ukrainians and Tatars (groups oppressed by the Soviet Union and Russia) may have meddled in the 2016 U.S. election instead of his government, she came under fire for a proposed interview with "InfoWars" host Alex Jones. 
 
 On Sept. 25 of that year, she debuted in the 9 a.m. hour, traditionally a soft-news time period, thought to be an odd fit for the adversarial former corporate defense attorney who made her name at Fox News discussing politics in prime time. 
 
 During her time on “Today,” Kelly has caused controversy several times. She angered Jane Fonda when she asked the veteran actress to discuss plastic surgery and she offended Debra Messing with her comments that seemed to imply being gay is a choice. 
 
 USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Kelly and NBC for comment. 
 
 Contributing: Jayme Deerwester 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2018/10/26/megyn-kelly-gets-support-fox-news-pals-nbc-future-bleak-geraldo-rivera-janice-dean/1772337002/ 

 Photo: Phillip Faraone (Getty Images) 
 
 Megyn Kelly will meet with executives from NBC today to discuss her future at the network, which isn’t looking so bright after her (closes eyes, sighs) regrettable comments about blackface. Chatter of her fate intensified this morning when Today hosts Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin met with NBC News correspondent Morgan Radford, with the gang reporting that her departure was “imminent.” 
 
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 If Kelly leaves, of course, that means NBC will buy out her $69 million contract, so, you know, she’s gonna be fine. If she does want to have a future in news, however, her options are becoming a bit limited. You’d think she’d be welcome back at Fox News, her previous home, but the network made it abundantly clear to USA Today that, sorry, no seats here. 
 
 “We are extremely happy with our entire line-up,” a spokesperson for Fox News told them. Ouch. 
 
 Still, it’s not much of a surprise. Kelly’s penchant for racially charged comments, after all, might just be a bit too tame for the network’s primetime lineup. Like, does she even read 4chan? 

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 By Claire Atkinson 
 
 NBC News said Friday that anchor Megyn Kelly will not return to the 9 a.m. ET hour of "Today," marking the end of a rocky run since Kelly moved to NBC News from Fox News. 
 
 "Megyn Kelly Today is not returning," an NBC News spokesperson said. "Next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other TODAY co-anchors.” 
 
 Kelly is still in talks with NBC News about her future at the network, according to two people familiar with conversations who were not authorized to speak publicly. Sources earlier in the week said that Kelly was likely to leave the company. 
 
 Bryan Freedman, a lawyer for Megyn Kelly, said that she remains an NBC News employee and "discussions about next steps are continuing." 
 
 The announcement ends a tumultuous 13-month run for Kelly as part of the "Today" lineup. Kelly rose to become one of the most recognizable TV hosts in the U.S. during her 12 years at Fox News, where she hosted an evening show, "The Kelly File." 
 
 Kelly's hiring by NBC News in January 2017 made waves across the media industry in part for her sizable contract, reportedly worth $69 million over three years. The show's ratings got off to a slow start, with Kelly attracting a smaller audience than the when her predecessors, Tamron Hall and Al Roker, hosted the 9 a.m. hour. 
 
 Kelly recently drew harsh criticism after a segment on Tuesday about Halloween costumes in which she questioned why blackface was considered racially insensitive. 
 
 "What is racist? Because you get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween," she said. "When I was a kid, that was OK as long as you were dressing up like a character." 
 
 Kelly apologized for the comments on Wednesday's show. 
 
 “I want to begin with two words: ‘I’m sorry,'” Kelly said in her show's open. 
 
 Kelly continued, “I defended the idea [of blackface] saying as long as it was ‘respectful’ and part of a Halloween costume it seemed ok. Well I was wrong and I am sorry.” 
 
 At a pre-scheduled Town Hall event, NBC News Chairman Andy Lack addressed the incident. “There is no other way to put this: I condemn those remarks; there is no place on our air or in this workplace for them,” he said. 
 
 A previously-taped episode of “Megyn Kelly Today” aired in place of a live show Thursday. 
 
 Jerry Martin, general manager at KPRC, an NBC affiliate based Houston, said he felt Kelly had a difficult task in moving from Fox News. 
 
 "She was trying to spread her wings and do a different type of show," Martin said. "She was never able to overcome her Fox image. That's hard to overcome, and then especially moving to daytime, she had a number of hurdles to jump over." 
 
 This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
– NBC aired a rerun in the slot for Megyn Kelly Today for the second straight morning on Friday, and the writing on the wall became official in the afternoon: She won't return to her show, period, with the controversy over her blackface comments seen as the final straw. "Next week, the 9am hour will be hosted by other Today co-anchors," said a network spokesperson. So what's next for Kelly? Still unclear. The latest: Another role? The early speculation was that Kelly would remain at NBC in a lesser role, but media writer Brian Stelter at CNN says that's now off the table. Kelly is expected to leave the network entirely. Back to Fox? Don't count on it, reports USA Today. Some of Kelly's former colleagues there are defending her—she "is not a racist," wrote meteorologist Janice Dean, while Geraldo Rivera said she's been "scapegoated"—but a network spokesperson made a point to say Fox is "extremely happy" with its current prime-time lineup. The AV Club interprets that to mean Fox is taking a "hard pass" on rehiring her.