Tamron Hall once walked away from a $2 million a year contract with NBC.
The 55-year-old two-time Daytime Emmy-winning television host sat down for an interview with Scott Evans on his House Guest series and revealed the details behind her 2017 NBC exit.
Tamron joined Today‘s third hour alongside Natalie Morales, Al Roker, and Willie Geist in 2014, becoming the first Black woman to co-anchor on the show. However, in 2017, NBC gave her co-hosting slot to Megyn Kelly and instead of taking on a smaller role, Tamron chose to leave.
Megyn‘s time on Today was over after just 1 year. She was fired over her controversial comments regarding people wearing blackface on Halloween.
Talking to Scott, Tamron revealed that her agent had sent her a text message at the time to reveal that the network was “making a big change.”
“‘You’re no longer in. Here’s what they’re offering, ‘” she recalled, per People. “And he proceeded to bullet point in a text all these things that they were offering to keep me.”
Tamron also worked at MSNBC Live and Dateline at the time. She had been on her way to work and about to go live when she received the text.
“I sit in a chair and I go, I’m almost, like, blacking out because your whole life is flashing before you,” she continued. “I gotta text my mama. That’s the first person I text. I text my mom and I said, ‘It’s done.’”
Ultimately, she declined the offer, telling Scott, “All money’s not good money. It’s not.”
Tamron also shared what her mom, Mary Newton, told her at the time.
“She said to me, ‘I am so proud of you because do you know how many times we’ve had to get off the sidewalk for someone else to walk?’ I thought about all the other young Black women in journalism, and I said, ‘If they see me lose, they may think they can’t win.’ And that day is why I turned it down,” she explained. “I’m not trying to sound like I’m a sacrifice or anything and I understood that that did not define me.”
Earlier this year, Peter Alexander announced his departure from NBC News after 20+ years.
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