When Tamron Hall left NBC/MSNBC because of the arrival of Megyn Kelly from Fox News, a lot of folks and fans were obviously upset and were concerned about her landing another high-profile gig.
Well, it looks like you don’t have to worry. Tamron’s gonna do OK. In fact, she’s being encouraged to take on co-hosting duties on ABC’s Live with Kelly, according to a Page Six report.
Hall was recently was sighted having lunch in New York with Henry Schleiff, president of Investigation Discovery, which airs the Deadline Crime series which she hosts. A source told Page Six that Scheliff wants Hall to consider joining up with Kelly Ripa.
“He was encouraging her to join Kelly,” the source told Page Six. “He said, ‘Throw your hat in the ring! Lighten things up.’ ”
Bill Haber, cofounder of the Los Angeles-based Creative Artists Agency, also stopped to greet Hall, 46, Page Six reports. Meanwhile Tamron has not yet announced her next move following her departure from NBC this month.
As we reported, Hall abruptly left NBC News (“Today” and MSNBC) after news broke that Megyn Kelly would take over the hour of NBC’s Today hosted by Hall and Al Roker. Us Weekly reports that Hall was told “minutes before going on air Friday that she and Al [Roker] were being taken off the show for Megyn Kelly.”
People.com reports that Hall felt slighted by being replaced by Kelly in the 9 a.m. hour. Although Hall was offered a multimillion dollar deal, she elected to depart as her contract was up. Although the team of Hall and Roker was congratulated for beating out other morning shows in the hour before Kelly was signed, once that deal was done, Hall, who also anchored on MSNBC, was told she’d have to move.
“The idea that she could have been at all surprised rings totally false. In the brief period of time in which she has been part of the 9 a.m. hour ensemble, the ratings have only shrunk.”
The source continues, “Tamron was told many months ago, a long-term commitment could not be made to her regarding the 9 a.m. hour, but she was offered many millions of dollars to remain at Today and the network.” When it comes to her colleagues, the source contends that “The staff is hurt and bewildered, and thinks once again Tamron has put herself above the team.”
Multiple sources tell PEOPLE that Hall was equal parts furious, hurt and offended that she was essentially losing her highest profile role to Kelly, with nothing being offered in its place. Hall saw the move as a “demotion” and she wasn’t alone.
People.com also talked to former Being Mary Jane showrunner Mara Brock Akil, who seems to feel that Hall will do just fine.
In the end, “She basically said thank you, but no thank you,” adds the anchor’s good friend, TV writer-producer Mara Brock Akil, who used Hall as the muse for Gabrielle Union’s career-driven character on the hit BET show Being Mary Jane. “Tamron’s a woman of integrity,” she continues, “and she’s writing her own story.”
As far a “Live with Kelly” is concerned, Hall could end a months-long cohost search for Ripa, also 46, should she join the show. Ripa, who was recently inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, has been without a permanent cohost since former NFL star Michael Strahan left the show for a gig at Good Morning America last year.
PHOTO: NBC
