Tamron Hall Opens up About Dramatic ‘Today Show’ Exit: ‘They Made The Wrong Choice’

Former Today Show anchor Tamron Hall spoke about her departure from the NBC morning show, saying the network made the “wrong choice” by picking Megyn Kelly to host the 9 a.m. hour. Hall made her comments during ABC’s Television Critics Association tour panel Monday, as she prepares to make her return to television.

During the panel, Hall was asked if she felt vindicated when NBC canceled Kelly’s show after following poor ratings and the former Fox News anchor’s controversial comments on blackface.

“Megyn’s success or not, I already knew they made the wrong choice when I left the door,” Hall replied, reports Variety. “I would never measure myself against her success or perceived lack thereof…..whether that show made it or not, I knew I was making the right decision for me.”

Hall later said of being passed on by NBC, “We’ve all been the kid who didn’t get picked to be on the kickball team.”

Hall’s new show will debut on Sept. 9 in syndication. She said the show will capitalize on her 25 years of journalistic experience and teased a better connection between her and the audience. Hall said she tried to cut the “moat” between the audience and host seen in many talk shows.

The host said she plans to avoid packing her guest lists with celebrities and the usual talk show format.

During her tenure at Today, Hall hosted an hour with Al Roker, Willie Geist and Natalie Morales. Hall, a 10-year NBC News veteran, left in February 2017 when NBC decided to hire Kelly and sign her to a big contract.

Hall’s new series was announced in January and is simply titled Tamron Hall.

“At one point in time, I was doing the Today Show, MSNBC, hosting Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks and appearing on Running Wild with Bear Grylls,” Hall told Broadcasting & Cable earlier this year. “When I thought about what I wanted to do next, it seemed logical to bring all of those things to one spot. I love all of the things I have done in television, why not try to bring all of them to one show?”

The Kelly experiment at NBC turned out to be a disaster. Megyn Kelly Today debuted in September 2017 but was canceled on Oct. 26, 2017, days after Kelly defended blackface during a discussion of controversial Halloween costumes. Kelly said it was “O.K.” when she was a kid, “as long as you were dressing up as, like a character.” Kelly issued two apologies on air, making her final appearance on Oct. 24, 2017. Two days later, the show was canceled and Kelly was eventually let out of her contract after long negotiations.

The 9 a.m. hour is back to the multi-host format, with Roker, Dylan Dreyer, Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones.

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