*Nischelle Turner has been promoted to full-time host on “Entertainment Tonight.”
The veteran Hollywood reporter will share hosting duties alongside existing host Kevin Frazier, making her the first Black woman to lead the popular entertainment news program.
“Nischelle can do it all. She can go from a heartfelt conversation with Oscar winner Viola Davis about the impact of Cicely Tyson to singing karaoke on a balcony with Jimmy Fallon. She is warm, thoughtful, and full of energy,” Erin Johnson, “Entertainment Tonight’s” executive producer, said in a statement on Thursday. “Celebrities respect her skills as a seasoned journalist, and our audience has taken notice of her fun chemistry with Kevin (Frazier). There is no one more deserving to lead ‘ET’ in our history making 40th season and beyond.”
“I’ve known this news for a couple weeks and have been thinking of what to say when it was released,” Turner wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday. She also gave a shout-out to Mary Hart, who hosted ET from 1982–2011 “for building this genre” and thanked her predecessor Nancy O’Dell “for setting the table.”
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You taught me so much and believed in me from day one. Thank you Keith for kicking my butt when it needed kicking, giving me a hug when I needed it and making me red beans and rice on a Monday! Lol I appreciate you so much! https://t.co/LsLqdwiFem
— Nischelle Turner (@nischelleturner) March 19, 2021
“My gratitude is deep and my commitment to representing is strong,” Turner concluded.
“Best news ever,” ET said of Turner’s promotion on Instagram. “@nischelleturner has been named co-host of Entertainment Tonight and we’re so lucky to have her.”
Turner dished with Variety about her history-making TV gig. “Make no mistake about it: I believe and have always believed that I was the best person for the job, but it was never lost on me that it was also bigger than just me,” she said. “I would be representing an underserved group of people who are finally getting a moment in the spotlight — and a well-deserved moment.”
“There was always a thought in the back of my head, ‘Is the audience in America ready for two Black hosts up there together?’ and the answer that America gave us was ‘Yes,’ Turner said.
In addition to hosting ET, Turner will host the upcoming show “Secret Celebrity Renovation,” set to premiere in the summer on CBS.
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