*On Tuesday, February 25, Tamron Hall was joined by former talk show hosts Ricki Lake, Montel Williams and Rolonda Watts. The television veterans, who shared the stage together for the first time on “Tamron Hall,” joined the show to discuss highlights from their careers, and where life has taken them since.
Ricki Lake, known for her self-named daytime talk show was greeted by the audience with a memorable “Go Ricki, Go Ricki” chant, a nostalgic nod to “Ricki Lake.” Discussing what made her show unique at the time, Ricki told Tamron, “One thing that we were able to do with our show back then was really show gay relationships and interracial couples. We treated them like every other couple. And I think that really – you know people come up to me today and say, ‘Thank you so much for showing people on TV that represented who I was because I wasn’t comfortable in my skin and I saw people like me and you helped me to come out.’”
During Tamron’s sit-down with Montel Williams, former host of “The Montel Williams Show,” Montel discussed how he wanted to use his platform to have a positive impact on his audience, sharing, “We were invited into people’s living rooms every single day and with that comes a responsibility. I think initially when talk shows started then, we went after the most salacious common denominator.”
Rolonda Watts, former host of “Rolonda,” shared her decision to ultimately step away from daytime television after a successful four year run saying, “It got to a point where it just got nasty and I just didn’t want a part of it.” She continued on about her life after the show explaining, “A talk show doesn’t determine who I am…My voice is still there. Yes, you do miss that hour of power to be able to make a difference in people’s lives. We were talking about things that people didn’t want to talk about – families in crisis, we got kids out of gangs, we went into prisons. We made a difference. And then you got to a point where your difference had to be how sensational you were without being compelling at all and that’s when I said, ‘I gotta go do something else.’”
Finally, Tamron brought Ricki, Montel and Rolonda together to answer questions from the audience. The three were asked what advice they would give their younger selves if they could travel back in time. Ricki answered, “I think I’d be more present. I’d tell myself to love myself the way I am. I think I’ve battled insecurities and, you know, wishing I was 20 pounds lighter, this or that, and I think to love myself and my body as I am.” Montel responded, “I alone own the definition of who I am.” And Rolonda shared, “You aren’t defined by a talk show, you aren’t defined by something outside yourself. That you are your greatest brand and your greatest show on earth.”
