Megyn Kelly Apologizes Again for Blackface Comments Amid Criticism from 'Today' Colleagues

Megyn Kelly began Wednesday’s episode of Megyn Kelly Today with two words: “I’m sorry.”

Holding back tears, the longtime journalist apologized again after defending white people who wear blackface on Halloween, asking why it was racist, during the show, Tuesday.

“I defended the idea, saying as long as it was respectful and part of a Halloween costume, it seemed okay. Well I am wrong and I am sorry,” she said.

“One of the great parts of sitting in this chair each day is getting to discuss different points of view. Sometimes I talk and sometimes I listen. And yesterday I learned,” Kelly, 47, continued. “I learned that given the history of blackface being used in awful ways by racists in this country it is not okay for that to be part of any costume, Halloween or otherwise.”

She added: “I have never been a PC kind of person. But I do understand the value in being sensitive to our history, particularly on race and ethnicity. This past year has been painful for many people of color. The country feels so divided and I have no wish to add to that pain and offense. I believe this is a time for more understanding, more love, more sensitivity and honor. I want to be part of that. Thank you for listening and for helping me listen too.”

A panel discussion on the issue between Kelly, Roland Martin and Amy Holmes followed the host’s statement — with her admitting at the end, “For my part, I have been listening and learning.”

Kelly’s apology came amid backlash for her comments, which were made during a discussion about censoring Halloween costumes with Jacob Soboroff, Melissa Rivers and Jenna Bush Hager during Tuesday’s episode.

“What is racist?” Kelly had asked. “Because truly you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface at Halloween or a black person who puts on white face for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was okay as long as you were dressing up as like a character.”

“On Halloween, you’ve got guys running around with fake axes coming out of their heads. It’s going to be jarring,” Kelly said on Tuesday. “You gotta be able to take it.”

As an example, Kelly defended Real Housewives of New York City star Luann de Lesseps, who had previously apologized for wearing a Diana Ross costume on the Bravo show. “Who doesn’t love Diana Ross? She wants to look like Diana Ross for one day, and I don’t know how that got racist on Halloween,” Kelly said.

Twitter was quick to respond, with stars like Patton Oswalt and Padma Lakshmi slamming Kelly’s views on social media.

“I cannot believe the ignorance on this in 2018,” Lakshimi wrote. “You are on national television. You have a responsibility to educate yourself on social issues @megynkelly. This is so damaging.”

Kelly’s Today show colleagues also spoke out about her comments during Today‘s 7 a.m. hour.

“The fact is, she owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the county,” Al Roker said. “This is a history, going back to the 1830s [with] minstrel shows. To demean and denigrate a race wasn’t right. I’m old enough to have lived through Amos ‘n’ Andy where you had white people in blackface playing two black characters just magnifying the stereotypes about black people. And that’s what the big problem is. … No good comes from it. It’s just not right.”

“She said something stupid, she said something indefensible,” added Craig Melvin, who called Kelly’s statement “ignorant and racist” but also called her “a colleague” and “a friend.”

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Both he and Roker seemed to poke at Kelly’s claim that she had just learned about the dangers of blackface. “I think a lot of people knew about blackface before yesterday,” Melvin said, Roker confirming, “You knew that no good comes from it.”

Later, during a sit-down with her sister, Bush Hager also spoke out about the segment. “I was part of that panel and the conversation took a turn none of us expected. I didn’t expect it,” she said. “I just have to say, of course it’s wrong. And in a world that’s sometimes filled with hate, I think it’s more important than ever that we use our voices towards love. … Now, more than ever, we need to make sure that when conversation goes that way towards racial intolerance, we use our voices and we use them loudly with love and with grace.”

Prior to Wednesday’s show, Kelly had issued an apology to her NBC colleagues in an internal email.

“One of the wonderful things about my job is that I get the chance to express and hear a lot of opinions. 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,” Kelly began in her email, obtained by PEOPLE.

“When we had the roundtable discussion earlier today about the controversy of making your face look like a different race as part of a Halloween costume, I suggested that this seemed okay if done as part of this holiday where people have the chance to make themselves look like others. The iconic Diana Ross came up as an example. To me, I thought, why would it be controversial for someone dressing up as Diana Ross to make herself look like this amazing woman as a way of honoring and respecting her?” she continued.

Kelly acknowledged that she now realizes “that such behavior is indeed wrong, and I am sorry. The history of blackface in our culture is abhorrent; the wounds too deep.”

The former Fox News anchor concluded by telling the NBC News staff that she is “honored to work with all of you every day.”