Veteran entertainment journalist Zuri Hall is leaving the field.
The playing field, that is.
Hall has launched “Zuri Hall’s Not About Sports,” a YouTube talk show centered around sports stars and personalities. But instead of focusing on the games, Hall is interviewing her guests about what goes on off the field. “The human interest angle is what’s exciting me the most about it,” she says. “We’re casting a wide net with who our guests could be and seeing what viewers resonate with most. We’ve got people like Loreal Sarkisian, the wife of the head coach of the Texas Longhorns, coming on pretty soon.”
“We’re talking about marriage and motherhood,” Hall added. “She’s opening up like she never has before, about that journey, about giving birth three months early, about her high-risk pregnancy, about what it’s like to support a powerhouse coach at the highest level, and the stresses that come with that, while maintaining her own identity.”
The lineup for “Not About Sports” also includes two-time Super Bowl champion Malcolm Jenkins of Philadelphia Eagles fame and Akbar Gbajabiamila, an 8-year NFL veteran turned Emmy-nominated TV host and commentator.
Hall is best known for her work on celebrity magazine shows like “E! News” and “Access Hollywood.” She is currently the lead host of the “Live From E!” red carpet specials as well as co-host of NBC’s primetime competition series, “American Ninja Warrior.” She is producing “Not About Sports” under her Good News First Studios production company.
Who are some of your dream guests?
It’s hard to pick, but Michael Jordan, because he is notoriously private and he is the GOAT, and because he doesn’t do interviews very often, let alone ones in the style that I’m doing. I would love for him to come on and tell his story in a different way, particularly because I won’t be talking anything basketball-related. I would love to be able to give fans a different side of Michael Jordan. Also, Tom Brady, because I think he’s in a really interesting point of his life right now. I got a lot of questions. I got a lot of questions about what life looks like for him now, what he hopes life will look like for him in the near future, and also maybe more context around some of the decisions that he’s made. I also have to get Jordan Chiles. She’s just so fun, so bubbly.
You’re focusing on guests from the world of sports, but are you also thinking of trying for people like Bradley Cooper, who could talk about his beloved Philadelphia Eagles?
I love that you brought that up. I think about that. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but Hollywood is definitely my wheelhouse. I’ve been talking to the stars for the better part of 12 years. I’m trusted in this space. My rapport with them is great. I love talking to the stars. I’d love to get Bradley Cooper talking about sports, but this is a show not about sports. We’d have to figure that out.
We can’t talk about sports without talking about hockey and “Heated Rivalry.”
The show is so sexy and so fun, and we’re all loving it right now. It’s the biggest sports romance series that’s out right now. If I could get Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams to lock in on an episode, hands down, we’re making it happen. We’ll have to workshop how exactly it fits. Maybe we’ll bring them on with an actual hockey player.
What was the first red carpet that you covered?
I remember the first one that I was nervous about, like I was nauseous, was Oprah. I’d been in the game a little bit, but I was still super green, and my producers wanted me to give her a loaf of bread [after Winfrey said she was eating bread every day, even while on Weight Watchers]. I was nervous that Oprah was going to be like, “Never again with you.” But in those moments, you see why Oprah is who she is. She has this unique ability to make everyone feel like they’re exactly who she wants to be talking to at that very moment.
Who was your most challenging interview?
The most challenging ones were earlier on in my career when I was still trying to strengthen the muscle of how to navigate some of those trickier questions. I will say it was kind of challenging interviewing Leonardo DiCaprio at the premiere of “The Revenant.” There were those ridiculous rumors — saying it out loud just feels so ridiculous – but there was a scene with him and a bear. [A bizarre claim that a bear sexually assaulted DiCaprio’s character had gone viral at the time]. That was a nice little moment of earning my stripes because I also had food poisoning that day. I had been throwing up literally all morning and all night before. My boss was going to take me off the assignment, and I was like, “Hell no, it’s DiCaprio.” I asked the question, and I got the bite, and the headline got picked up globally. So thank you, Leonardo DiCaprio – it’s been a pleasure interviewing you all these years. [For the record, Variety’s Marc Malkin was with E! Online at the time and wrote the story about Hall’s DiCaprio interview.]
This Q&A was edited for length and clarity.
