Megyn Kelly just escalated her legal battle with NBC

NBC

Megyn Kelly apologizing for saying it's OK to wear blackface.

• Megyn Kelly's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, blames NBC for rumors that Kelly asked the company for more than her $69 million compensation.
• He suggested, without evidence, that NBC executives lost control of the company.
• Kelly herself lashed out at The Daily Mail for taking what she said were invasive pictures of her family.

Megyn Kelly's attorney, Bryan Freedman, signaled he's escalating her fight with NBC over their fallout this month, saying he holds the company responsible for unfounded rumors about Kelly's compensation

Freedman denied that Kelly had asked for more money than the $69 million compensation over three years that NBC agreed to.

"Despite my efforts to handle this confidentially, NBC News is allowing the media to run with completely false and irresponsible reports that disparage Megyn by erroneously claiming she has ever asked for more money than her contract requires," Freedman wrote in a statement.

Freedman speculated, without evidence, that NBC executives may have lost control over their company, and that the dispute with Kelly has an influence on the company's news coverage.

"If NBC News is not the source then they have a responsibility as a news division to correct these false claims. Or are they somehow attempting to use these fabrications for some fictitious advantage in the discussions we're having?" Freedman wrote. "If [NBC News chairman] Andy Lack has lost control, my hope would be that [NBCUniversal CEO] Steven Burke can step in and not permit blatant lies about our discussions to remain uncorrected."

On the heels of Freedman's statement, Kelly also attacked media coverage of her exit from NBC's "Today" show. On Twitter, she said The Daily Mail took photos of her husband in her home and took photos and videos of her children.

Kelly left NBC News after she defended wearing blackface. She's since apologized for her comments, but her hour on "Today" has been cancelled and she's reportedly in negotiations to leave NBC altogether.