Being famous means that unless it’s beneficial to your brand—or memoir—it’s best to leave the details of your sordid past in the rearview mirror where they belong. Sadly, Tamron Hall must’ve missed the memo, because now we’ve learned that the former NBC News correspondent might’ve been a whole ass Freeway Rick Ross in a past life—or merely a “facilitator.”
According to People, earlier this week Hall admitted to “facilitating” the sale of Rick James’ favorite nose candy as an entrepreneurial teenager but vehemently denied that she sold it herself. This taxicab confession that absolutely nobody asked for occurred on her talk show, where she apparently discusses the trap house she and her college boyfriend ran “facilitated.”
Here’s her official statement on the matter, as issued to People:
“During an interview with Prison Rights Advocate Topeka Sam, I shared a story about a bad situation I got myself into when I was 19. I never dealt drugs,” said Hall.
“I am now nearly 50 years old and was reflecting on a bad judgement call that could have turned worse,” the talk show host explained. “I say but for the grace of God, there go I.”
“It was part of an open and honest conversation about women, incarceration and mistakes made,” she continued. “For legal reasons a portion of that segment was edited from the show. I hope my show can be a forum for sharing stories without shame or judgement—including a conversation we’re having Friday on opioid addiction.”
Okay.
As a reminder, this was a story that was doing perfectly fine, minding its own business as it camped out in the deep recesses of Hall’s mind until it was dragged out by its ankles and shared with millions of viewers. In other words, she did this to herself and didn’t even have to.
Her college boyfriend has yet to come forward and either confirm or deny if Hall was really about that life or just rapping about it like the other Rick Ross, but let this be a lesson: leave the past where it belongs if it’s not to your benefit or else you’ll be stuck “facilitating” an explanation that may or may not save your job.