Tamron Hall didn’t appear on air this morning on MSNBC or Today, one day after the death of Prince who died in his Minnesota home at the age of 57. Her words did, however, when she spoke with NBC News and MSNBC’s Craig Melvin, giving more insight into her surprisingly close relationship with the singer.
The conversation revealed that Hall last spoke with the singer for hours on Monday, and he “didn’t sound sick” despite reports that he was battling a flu or, worse, a recent overdose from the prescription painkiller Percocet, as reported by TMZ. (The news outlet also published a photo the singer outside a Walgreens near his home, allegedly waiting for a prescription hours before his death.)
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Hall continued (via Today), “He assured me he was OK. All Saturday he kept saying he was fine and asked me to come to Paisley to see his new piano and for a fan party. I was working and didn’t go. Monday, we exchanged emails after I sent him a video from a restaurant playing a song. I talked about how he was everywhere I go. It was a sweet moment and I had no idea it would be our last time talking. I never imagined it.”
The story revealed what many Today viewers had already known — that Prince and Hall had developed a close relationship, something she revealed in November 2015 when her selfie landed on the single cover for his love song “If I Could Get Ur Attention.”
Opening up to Today’s Take co-host Willie Geist the day the single hit Tidal, Hall described the photo as “private,” adding that she sent Prince the pic and it was “not unsolicited.” Geist dug for more information on the friendship and Hall opened up. “Prince and my mother are the only two people who I talk to about what I’m going to wear,” she explained. “I send him a picture in the morning.”
And the Purple One was always “very clear about what he likes,” she explained. “He tells me things like, ‘Your eyebrows — fill them in a little more.”
The conversation proved to be a rare moment for Hall, who laughed that Geist “outed my personal life, which I never do.” She did it again on Thursday on Twitter, posting an emotional tweet, seen below.
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Back to her conversation with Melvin, Hall added how much of an influence Prince had on her. “He protected his privacy, he protected the privacy of his friends. And even though I’m talking about him today and with you and on our show, there are just great things about him I wish I could tell people, but he wanted them to stay private,” she explained. “He didn’t want people to know all of the ways he helped other people. He did it as this silent angel, including how he helped me in my life on many occasions. … I’m sorry for the world losing his gift, but he’s not gone.”
No doubt when she returns to the air, Hall will have more to say. She can be seen as the anchor of NewsNation on MSNBC and as co-host of Today’s Take on Today. Prince isn’t the only notable name Hall is close with. She frequently posts photos with celebrities on Instagram and even attended the private birthday party for Aretha Franklin recently.
“Like a bird without a song”. I’ve lost one of my best friends today. I know he would have advice right now, Prince I’m listening as always.
— Tamron Hall (@tamronhall) April 21, 2016
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