Megyn Kelly Not Appearing on 'Today' for Rest of Week Amid Ongoing Backlash Over Blackface Comments

Amid reports that Megyn Kelly's 9 a.m. hour of the Today show is in jeopardy, NBC announced that pre-taped re-runs of Megyn Kelly Today will air through the rest of the week.

"Given the circumstances, Megyn Kelly Today will be on tape the rest of the week," an NBC spokesperson told PEOPLE on Thursday.

The announcement came after Netflix confirmed to Deadline that some cast members and executive producers from House of Cards had pulled out of their scheduled interviews on Megyn Kelly Today for Thursday.

Michael Kelly, who plays Doug Stamper on the streaming service's signature D.C. show, and showrunners Frank Pugliese and Melissa James Gibson were set to promote the upcoming sixth and final season of House of Cards, but canceled after Megyn Kelly's controversial comments defending blackface on Tuesday.

The former Fox News host drew backlash Tuesday when she pondered aloud whether wearing blackface as part of a Halloween costume is actually racist during a segment on the show with a panel that was set up to discuss campus attempts at discouraging "inappropriate and offensive costumes."

"What is racist?" Kelly said. "You do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween, or a black person who puts on white face for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was OK as long as you were dressing up like a character."

None of the members on Kelly's all-white panel echoed her sentiments.

Outcry on social media was inevitable, but even NBC bosses and Kelly's peers publicly condemned her words. Craig Melvin called her remarks "indefensible," as well as "ignorant and racist," while Al Roker said she "owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country."

The 47-year-old apologized twice — one to her co-workers in an internal memo Tuesday afternoon and again through tears at the top of Wednesday's show, to which she received a standing ovation. However, backlash continues to heighten, especially amid reports that her morning show is in jeopardy.

Kelly and NBC News executives had already been in talks about a new role for her at the company following disappointing ratings for her hour of Today.

"Where do you think Megyn Kelly would be happier, as part of a big breaking news or forced to cover light-hearted stories that traditionally work at 9 a.m.?" a source close to her told Variety.

Two people familiar with the matter told CNN Business that Kelly's show will be ending and that negotiations about the end date and other details are underway.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Kelly and NBC News chair Andy Lack "discussed a possible winding-down of her portion of the 'Today' show by the end of the year."

Megyn Kelly Today kicked off in the fall of 2017 after she left Fox News. Kelly told her audience during the first show that she was "kind of done with politics for now" and that she instead hoped to help viewers "get yourself through the day, to have a laugh with us, a smile, sometimes a tear — and maybe a little hope to start your day. Some fun! That's what we want to be doing."