Tamron Hall 'Today' Exit: Why Co-Host Left NBC After Learning Show Was Replaced By Megyn Kelly [VIDEO]
Her abrupt exit from NBC shocked many, and now, sources close to Tamron Hall are speaking out about why exactly she chose to leave the network entirely following her hour of Today with Al Roker being given the axe this fall in favor of a new program featuring Megyn Kelly.
Hall's departure came just days after news broke that Kelly's upcoming daytime program for the network would replace the hour she and Roker took over when former host Billy Bush was let go from the network following the leaked hot mic tape of him and Donald Trump last fall during the election. Now, sources say she refused to be cast off to sit on the sidelines after gaining success with her climbing status on the show.
"Just a few days before all of this happened, she received an email [from an exec] congratulating the team for being number one," a source told People. "Then all of a sudden, it was like it vanished: Megyn Kelly is coming onboard, and who's going to have to move? Tamron. That's who."
"She wasn't going to settle for sitting on the sidelines," the source added.
However, another source has claimed that Hall never should have expected her gig to be a permanent one however, and was even told as her profile rose that it was likely a temporary arrangement.
"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 recent wins over Kelly Ripa were only because that show has tanked in the last several weeks. And no network is in the business of being the slowest sinking ship)," the source said. "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."
That source also maintains that several members of the show's staff believe that Hall put her own best interests above everyone else's by leaving.
"The staff is hurt and bewildered, and thinks once again Tamron has put herself about the team," the source said.
