CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tamron Hall is out at the “Today” show.
The co-anchor of the 9 a.m. hour abruptly quit NBC’s morning show on Wednesday apparently over the network’s decision to replace her and co-anchor Al Roker with Megyn Kelly.
“Tamron is an exceptional journalist, we valued and enjoyed her work at ‘Today’ and MSNBC and hoped that she would decide to stay,” NBC said in a statement. “We are disappointed that she has chosen to leave, but we wish her all the best.”
It’s not clear what role NBC offered Hall, but according to the New York Post and other outlets, she left millions on the table.
“The last ten years have been beyond anything I could have imagined, and I’m grateful,” Hall said in a statement released through NBC. “I’m also very excited about the next chapter. To all my great colleagues, I will miss you and I will be rooting for you.”
She came over to “Today” in 2014 from MSNBC, where she has appeared for the last 10 years. Last week, Roker boasted on Twitter that their hour was “the No. 1 morning show seven weeks in a row.” But NBC had to find room for Kelly, who it lured away from Fox News for what is believed to be between $15 million to $17 million a year.
The New York Post reported Hall was told of the decision to replace her and Roker with Kelly just before she went on air on Friday.
“She was devastated to get the news. It was almost an Ann Curry moment live again on TV. It was surreal,” a source told the newspaper.
The National Association of Black Journalists released a statement saying it was saddened by Hall’s exit and asked for a meeting with the network.
“NBC has been a leader for diversity in broadcasting, but 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 statement said.
Kelly’s show is expected to launch by the fall, though it’s not yet known if it will be at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. or even part of the “Today” show brand.
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