Tamron Hall says she turned down a $2 million-a-year offer from NBC after learning she was being pushed aside on the “Today” show to make room for Megyn Kelly.
“A text message came from my then-agent and he said, ‘They’re making a big change. You’re no longer in. Here’s what they’re offering,’” Hall said during an appearance on Scott Evans’ “House Guest” series.
“And he proceeded to bullet point in a text all these things that they were offering to keep me.”
Hall, 55, said she was on her way to MSNBC and preparing to go live when she got the message informing her of the shakeup at NBC, where she was also working for “Dateline” and MSNBC Live.
“I sit in a chair and I go, I’m almost, like, blacking out because your whole life is flashing before you,” Hall recalled. “I gotta text my mama. That’s the first person I text. I text my mom and I said, ‘It’s done.’ ”
Sharing that NBC had offered her a contract worth $2 million annually to remain with the network, Hall recounted, “I wrote my agent back and I said, ‘I’ll pass.’”
When Evans reacted with disbelief, Hall replied, “All money’s not good money. It’s not.”
Hall also revealed the advice her mother, Mary Newton, gave her after the ordeal.
“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?’” Hall said.
“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.”
“I’m not trying to sound like I’m a sacrifice or anything … and I understood that that did not define me,” she added.
Hall was pushed out of the 9 a.m. hour of “Today” in 2017 after NBC recruited Kelly for a major daytime role following her departure from Fox News. Kelly ultimately took over the slot previously occupied by Hall and Al Roker on “Today’s Take.”
The shakeup triggered backlash from the National Association of Black Journalists, which accused NBC of “whitewashing” after replacing Hall and Roker’s hour with Kelly’s program.
NBC responded by defending its diversity record and later agreed to meet with NABJ representatives.
Kelly’s tenure on the program lasted just one year. Her daytime show was canceled in 2018.
Hall went on to launch her syndicated daytime talk show, “Tamron Hall,” in 2019. The show was renewed for an eighth season earlier this year.
The Post has sought comment from Hall and NBC.
