Tamron Hall is back on our television screens once again as the host of her own talk show.
She's opened up to her fans and studio audience — known as her "Tam Fam" — and a lot more
has come to light about those the years she spent off-screen. Here's what really happened
to Tamron Hall.
When fans turned on their televisions to the Today show in February 2017, it was a surprise
not to see Hall on their screens. After all, she'd been there every morning for three years.
Her co-host Al Roker simply said,
"Our good friend Tamron Hall has decided to leave NBC News."
"We want to wish her nothing but the best, much continued success, and cannot wait to
see what her next chapter is."
And that was it. There was no farewell episode, no final goodbye, no nothing. The successful
morning show practically made it seem as if Hall had never even been there — which is
when the rumors began swirling.
Today ended up releasing a public statement, explaining that Hall's contract was up. However,
they announced this one day late, after she had already left the network. The statement
read,
"Tamron Hall will be leaving NBC News and MSNBC when her contract expires this month.
Yesterday was her last day as an anchor on both networks."
Between her abrupt end to the sudden surprise statement from the show, many people assumed
that Hall had left on bad terms.
It quickly became pretty clear that Hall was being replaced on Today. By the end of 2017,
Megyn Kelly had her very own hour on the famous morning show — exactly when Hall's hour
used to be. Hall later told Variety,
"Megyn's success or not, I already knew they made the wrong choice when I left the door."
Hall wasn't the only one who was outraged by suddenly being scrubbed from NBC — the
National Association of Black Journalists was backing her up as well. In a statement,
the association said,
"Recent reports that Hall and Roker will be replaced by former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly
are being seen by industry professionals as whitewashing."
The group then requested to meet with the network. In the end, NBC insisted that they
had offered another position to Hall, which she had declined.
Today execs may have said that they wanted her to stay, but Hall told Strahan , Sara,
& Keke that she got fired. Rumors were circulating that Hall was offered a lower position on
the team, but she refused to take it. She later explained to USA Today,
"I didn't want to watch as my profile was being shrunk down to nothing when I know that
I have a unique perspective and voice in this business."
The morning show even said in a statement that they, quote, "hoped that she would decide
to stay," and that they were "disappointed that she has chosen to leave." However, it's
still never been clear what new position the network had offered her. All Hall has said
is that her other offers were, quote, "insulting," according to Deadline.
A source told People magazine that Hall was offered millions of dollars to stay at NBC,
but she still decided to bounce. The insider reportedly said,
"The staff is hurt and bewildered, and thinks once again Tamron has put herself above the
team."
However, Hall seemed to know there were bigger and better things out there for her.
"I believe that I got what I needed to get out of that experience, and you move on."
Hall's replacement didn't end up lasting long at Today. Megan Kelly Today was part of the
morning show for only one year before it was cancelled. The network wanted nothing to do
with her after a comment she made on the show about blackface.
"I can't keep up with the number of people that we're offending just by being like normal
people these days."
In a statement, NBC announced,
"Next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other Today co-anchors."
While this seemed like the ideal time for Hall to reprise her role on morning television,
she wasn't waiting around to return to Today. She explained to USA Today,
"I wasn't going to wait for someone else to not work out when I could be figuring out
a way for me to work out. I didn't want Megyn Kelly to see me lurking in the hallway."
It was her time to take over television on her own terms, and she was planning her own
daytime TV comeback.
While Hall walked away from Today on her own terms, it wasn't an easy decision for her
to make. She told USA Today she was, quote, "heartbroken" over the whole situation. She
had covered for her co-anchors on multiple occasions and was even hosting a second show
on the network. She had dedicated her life to NBC — it was her dream job. Now, she
was left feeling like she wasn't enough after being fired from her hour long slot. In an
interview with Deadline, she confessed,
"I had to look myself in the mirror and say, 'but am I still Tamron' if there's no name
beneath my card, if it doesn't say a show. And I decided I'm still Tamron."
With over 25 years in the business, Hall had another plan for herself. She wasn't about
to give up so easily quite yet.
With her deal done at NBC, a spot at ABC opened up for Hall just in time. A few months after
she left Today in 2017, Michael Strahan left Live with Kelly, and Kelly Ripa was looking
for a new co-host.
Rumors began swirling all over social media when Hall was spotted having lunch with a
network executive. A source reportedly told Page Six that "he was encouraging her to join
Kelly." However, when Hall's team was asked about Live with Kelly, they declined to comment.
Ryan Seacrest ended up being chosen for the job, and Hall was left searching for her new
starring role on television.
While Hall never got the chance to co-host with Ripa, she has been on the show plenty
of other times. She even got the chance to sit beside Seacrest while Ripa was out of
office one day in August 2019.
After her time at Today came to an end, Hall knew she was capable of starring on any kind
of show — and she was bound and determined to make it happen. Quickly after leaving NBC
in 2017, she signed a deal with the Weinstein Company to create her very own place on television
— the Tamron Hall Show. She told Parade,
"I woke up to this tremendous outpouring of support and people who were rooting for me,
and I want to make them proud."
However, Hall's talk show came to a complete halt only a few months later when news broke
about allegations of Harvey Weinstein's rampant abuse and harassment. Hall was horrified by
his actions and walked away from the deal by the end of 2017, according to HuffPost.
She then stayed away from television for the next two years.
Shortly after she left Today in 2017, music executive Steven Greener asked Hall out for
pizza, and even mentioned marrying her right then and there. She explained on Live with
Kelly and Ryan,
"We moved in together, like, three weeks later."
While she was away from television, Hall was trying to become a mom too. She and Greener
had been through IVF, and it didn't seem to be working. She told People magazine,
"Just like with my job search during that time, there were so many frustrations. I'm
putting in the work, I'm taking care of my mind and my body and I'm being rejected."
The couple eventually decided that they would adopt a child. However, the universe seemed
to have other plans. At the end of 2018, Hall and her husband got a surprising phone call.
She told Parade,
"When I got the call from the nurse that we were [pregnant], it was unbelievable, surreal."
Since she was 48 years old and had a pregnancy that was considered high-risk, she kept her
pregnancy top secret from the public. Once she was 32 weeks along, however, Hall felt
comfortable sharing the news on Instagram, so her fans finally knew what she'd been up
to. Debuting her adorable baby bump, she wrote
"It's clear a daytime talk show isn't the only thing I've been trying to produce!"
Two years after leaving Today, Hall finally had her own show to star in. The Tamron Hall
Show was picked up by ABC and Walt Disney Television, and her season premiere hit television
screens across the country in September 2019.
Hall told Windy City Live that the show was all about inspiring audiences, quote, "when
you're down on your luck, as I've been and all of us have been." Instead of all celebrity
guests, she aspired to host everyday people on her set. It was about bringing people together.
In fact, she wanted the audience as close to her as possible, something she never had
while she was shooting live on Today. Hall had clearly learned a lot during her two year
leave from television. She told ABC 10 News,
"I hope you'll see somebody who's hosting a show that's a lot more like you than you
think."
Obviously, fans were enjoying seeing Hall on their televisions once again. So much so,
in fact, that the first year of her talk show earned her a daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding
Informative Talk Show Host in 2020.
Since Hall wasn't able to accept her award in person, she instead decided to go to Instagram
to share her "virtual acceptance speech" with her fans, also known as the "Tam Fam." While
many other winners usually look red carpet ready in a gown and makeup, Hall was rockin'
a robe and makeup-free look. She said she had been sitting at home when she'd gotten
the call that changed her life.
Hall's talk show was two whole years in the making, and it finally seemed like her time
to shine away from Today had arrived. She wrote to her fans,
"Thank you for keeping me in the game!"
In October 2020, Hall was out of breath as she announced she had big news to share with
her studio audience.
"I do have an announcement to make, though, as I catch my breath, woo."
Instead, Hall's talk show was being renewed all the way through 2022. After two years
away from television, she isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Hall and her talk show are on
top of the world!
When the Tamron Hall Show first premiered, it made its way into the top five syndicated
shows on television. Since its second season, Hall's show has had an average 1.2 million
viewers tuning into their televisions each day. She gushed,
"To get a show renewed this early into a season — we've only had 30 days of shows — is
incredible. So thank you."
It was in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic that the show was given the green light to
go into season 3 at ABC, too, so it was a pleasant surprise, to say the least. During
a time when many other television shows were struggling to make it on air, she told her
audience she was extremely grateful.
While leaving Today was initially tough, looking back, Hall is now glad she decided to do it.
She told People magazine,
She would have never had any of that without taking time away from TV.
Hall was truly horrified walking out of Rockefeller Center the day she was let go from NBC. She
was confused and lost, not knowing what was coming next. She had to pick herself back
up from the brutal realization that she was being replaced and pave her own way back into
television. Now, she has something even better.
At Today, Hall wasn't able to interact with an audience. Now, her show allows her to,
quote, "be where [she] loves to hang out most, which is with people." Her talk show is a
way for her to help others pick themselves back up in their own difficult situations
too. She explained,
"You have no idea that something better is right there. You've just got to persevere."
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