The Breakfast Club interview with Zuri Hall

0:00979 WJL. You're taking out the breakfast club. Morning everybody, it's DJ NV Jessalaria. Shalom Amy. God, we are the breakfast. It's global all the roses here as well. We got a special guest in the building. She's back ladies and gentlemen, Zaryl Hall. Welcome. Hi, thank you. Thank you. I feel good. Thank you so much for the guy you gorgeous. It's been good. I got in. I was at the US open a few days ago, which is really fun. And doing some press, talking pop culture, Hollywood. And he's around the corner. It looks good to be in New York. I'm spending more time on here lately. Since you mentioned in the US, I just wanted to ask you how do you feel about the creators going crazy in the US opening in? And the reps having to say, please sit down. Please turn off your cameras. Right. Please stop the flash. The weed, the all the things. The weed. I mean, the weed could be anybody though. Technically, it's probably not just the influence. You know, it's like the super, super tennis people with and smoke at the US open. I would assume that anybody, obviously, if they have it. We go with the free. Yeah, we'll smoke, break. But I think tennis watchers, they're like, they drunk, but they like

1:03in it. Like, it's the honey juices. It's just the honey juices and the vibes. I think there is a conversation that needs to be had. But like the flash photography, et cetera. It's all a part of the fact that the US open at this point. It really is like a sports take on fashion week. Like you've got Anna Winter in the box. You know, you've got A-list celebrities, rubbing shoulders. It's turned into this pop culture phenomenon. So I think that comes with the territory. You want influencers there because they're moving the needle in a different way. They're getting new eyeballs on the sport, which I think is great, but you also do have to respect the sport. Like it's an incredibly impressive one. There is a certain rule or a set of etiquette rules in the world of tennis. And you can't show up into somebody's house and do what you want to do. They don't go into this. Get in the place. I mean, I don't think they can. They can. Yeah, right? Yeah. Like they do it in any other sport. Do you remember Missouri who was sending like cold emails trying to get somebody to give her an opportunity? Who told you about this? Yeah, I do. I sometimes go back to those old emails and read them just to look at all of the rejection

2:06and remind myself how far I've come. You know, because even now I get nose all the time. But I remember when it was only nose and then I remind myself one yes and I look back at like that first 2011 email. Or it was like, actually, you can come in and meet with us for 20 minutes and then that moves the needle up. You do the next thing. Yeah. How did those nose shape? How do you are now? Because how did the nose shape how you are now? You know, because you didn't get a bunch of nose, like infinite nose, and it's here you away from what you want to do. Totally. You know, or the other way, it can make you a harder. How in that moment? I think because like with my father, like I think we might have talked about this a little bit, but he always raised me with I say a healthy level of delusion or like anything as possible. You know, and until it is yesterday. Yeah. Wait, you told me exactly that. I mean, what's up? That's good. You got to be. I just didn't know, you know, anything coming from him that could be slightly positive. You just got to just like what's the catch? What are we saying? Tell me more. Where is his kind of?

3:07I think that you do need that because you posted a video talking about building your life as a ladder. I'm about to do that. It suggests, and what she's talking about is like you get on one step at a ladder and don't, something don't work out. You still got to be delusion enough to know that like I can get the top ladder because this is a random other person, did it? Exactly. That's exactly it. Like I think that delusion is when I hear a no or especially back in the early days, it was just not yet or not this way, not this door. And so I never took it personally. It was like, oh, you don't know me enough yet to know that I'm going to crush this. Oh, you don't understand how I work or how I move. So that has nothing to do with me. That has to do with the fact that you don't know. You don't know what you're passing on. You don't know what you're missing out on. So I'll go get it somewhere else. And then eventually you'll see what you miss out on. What did Zuri that was trying to get on have that successful Zuri sometimes has to fight to keep? Whoa. Say that one more time. Right. What did the Zuri that was trying to get on? Half. Uh huh.

4:08That successful Zuri sometimes has to be. Oh, that's good. Char. She sometimes she had to fight to keep. And now I think I'm doing a pretty good job of it. Remembering this isn't it. This isn't the end all be all like, you know, as much as I love my career and for a long time to Lawrence point, I built it like a ladder. I've talked about that. This isn't the most important thing in my life. And that's saying a lot because it's one of the most important things in my life. But being from Ohio, growing up in Toledo, thank God, my parents are still here and they're so present and active in my life. I've got a niece. I've got a nephew. There's just so much more that matters. And for a long time, scrappy Zuri who's just trying to get it, super ambitious. And it was only work. Like I missed out on so many things. Like I missed one of my, at the time she was a good friend. I one of my best friends, weddings, like, and I always, that still breaks my heart to think about. But it was at a time in my life where I was afraid to ask for a vacation day. I was afraid to be like, hey, this important thing in my life is happening. I need to be there. And quite frankly, I don't know if I even understood how important those things were at that time,

5:10right? And that's just not the case anymore. So I would say like the Zuri who was like this or nothing else, like sometimes I have to remember that I think I kind of just went a little bit all the way to that. You just always more like I want to hear Zuri talk about it. No, I'm just waiting. Yeah, the first one. Anyway, I just think it was her last time. I'm like, she is. I'm a part of it. She was like in and out. We get the talk. Zuri's all over the world. Oh, Lord, we're settled in. All right, let's do it. Are you doing a thing for a fashion week? I am not. I'm getting out of here. Thank you so much. I fly out later today back to LA. Normally, I would be covering the Emmys on Monday, but I'm getting surgery and I actually feel very strongly about talking about this. I'm getting a fibroid removed. Oh, my God. Yeah, exactly. And the reason that I have to do it then is this is the only time they could squeeze me in in the next couple of months. And I want to get it done before award season really kicks off with the globes in January. So I have time to recover. So it should first have to do with the five.

6:11How long does recovery time? I'm trying to get on a flight to Ohio to finish my recovery three days after. We're going to see if that's overly ambitious. I hope my surgery is not listening. I think they told me a week before I have to get on the plane. But I think it'll be like a week or so of just like rest, et cetera. But I have friends who have done it and they've had multiple fibroids removed. And they were out. Like it was one of my friends is going through right now. As you said, it's been pretty brutal. I haven't traditionally had them, but I did egg freezing. And so I did four rounds and a lot of estrogen, a lot of hormones. And I do kind of wonder if that's where it came from. But was it painful? Did they feel it from the pain or? No, I have no pain. I just, but yeah, when I started the egg freezing journey, I just got really serious about my health periods, a reproductive health fertility preservation. And so you know, you're doing these ultrasound. And during one of the ultrasound is probably my third or fourth round for the first time. They were like, you know, you have a fibroid, right? And I was like, what? No, I've never had one of those. Like, what does that mean? And they were like, they're super common, really normal, especially in black women.

7:12They affect us disproportionately. And 80% right? Yeah. Up to 80% of black women. Exactly. Up to 80% by the age of 50, going to deal with at least one fibroid in their life. And so it was new for me, but they said nothing to worry about whatever. But I do want to have kids. And I'm excited to, you know, hopefully carry as many naturally as I can. And where it's located, they like it. And you just get that out of there. Yeah. It's giving. I don't want to get repredented during the day. I don't want to. Fibroid removal. It's for some women, unfortunately, is seriously impacts your reproductive journey. To the point, some women can't carry. Some women have hysterectomies where there's a complete removal. Because of the fibroids, scarring is a risk also. And then when you have these fibroids, depending on where they're located in your uterus, they can harm or I guess you would say deter implantation, right? So for a fetus, and now I've done gone from US Open expert to OBGYN. You know, this is not medical advice for the record.

8:12I feel like I need to say that. It's a personal experience. It's my personal experience. But it can definitely deter implantation. And that's what you need to take a healthy baby nine months to term. We got more zuri hall when we come back. Don't move is the breakfast club. Good morning. You know, you're gonna share a lot of your true will. I will discuss that I can tell. Come give me in. Come here. You're paying me 10. I know you're still lying. She gets to nail a little with all. I guess I didn't run out of options. Can't keep fantasizing. I'm calling you so we can lock in. But you come each time. You make it easy for me to believe in love. You better believe it. Because maybe I'm making with something. It's better than it could be for smiling. Because you know what I know. You know what you better say. I'll actually treat you well.

9:13I will discuss that I can tell. Come give me help. Come here. Your fairy tale. I'm gonna get sped. I am. She gets to nail a little. I'm calling everybody's DJ and V. Just hilarious. Show them in the guy we ought to break this club. We're still kicking it with Zuri Hall. Show them in. You know, Zuri, you know what I heard you say? You said you didn't believe in backup plan. You still believe that? I guess I have to say no. I don't believe it. Because even egg freezing is technically, I would categorize it as a backup plan, right? Because the goal up until a certain age at least for me was to get pregnant naturally. And egg freezing was a backup plan. I think career wise professionally. Yes, I still believe that. Like it's all in. It's all or nothing. Like this is what I'm doing. And in the downtime when I'm not doing it, it's just trying to figure out how to get back to wherever I'm trying to go. But personally, yeah, I believe in backup plans when it comes to this fertility. You know what's so crazy? I was before he said I was going to ask you, at what point did you stop kind of believing in the backup plan for your person like?

10:15Because you said you froze your eggs. Because it's been something that like, I think a lot of career, you were so focused on career. Yeah. And you have to think about, okay, at what time does my real life kick in? Right. And how's that going to work out for me? But it seems like you've made the switch where you're like, non-prioritized in my real life. Exactly. Exactly. That's switch for you. That's exactly it. Like what happened? I love that question. I think I got to this point in my life where, you know, I talk about this ladder theory and how we should be building like pillars, right? Instead, so you have this house. The foundation for me is my faith. Because sometimes all the pillars come crashing down at once. And it's like, okay, then what? But at least you still have this firm foundation. I got to this point where I had nothing to show for my life outside of my professional accomplishments. So when the career stuff imploded or I got hit with a plot twist or whatever it was, I had nothing to show. I was like, I had, you know, so much of my identity was wrapped up in what I was achieving or accomplishing. And I was like, this is a crappy way to live. And also, even sometimes at my highest moments, I'm talking Oscars, Rhyme's, Golden Globes,

11:17co-hosting, fashion police with Joan Rivers, all these different things. I still have moments of misery. Like internally, I felt a void. I felt a lack of fulfillment because I was always chasing the next high. Like it was incredible when I was on set. It was incredible when that show premiered. But the in-between, there was nothing because I hadn't doled up anything else. And I was like, I just don't want to live this way because it's giving too much control to the people and positions of power in this landscape that I'm choosing to participate in. So I got to figure out how to build up these other pillars. And I also realized, you know, at the end of the day, is the folks in Ohio, it's my family, it's my friends, it's my loved ones who are going to be here throughout this entire journey. Like half the people that I worked with at any given moment, would they be at my wedding? Would they be at my funeral? You don't have to go dark. And the answer is probably not. And so why would I give that much energy to these people? God bless them. Yeah. But give them more than I'm giving the people who are rocking with me.

12:18Higher, low, good or bad. What do you think? I like that good. What do you think you need for a company? Like now that you're in this space where you can really remove yourself from your accomplishments. So where do you think your need for accomplishing comes from? Is it you really want to accomplish or is it a fulfillment of something else that you were trying to figure out? I think it's both. Yeah, I think I sometimes joke as a trauma response, but Loki, it kind of is a bit of a trauma response. I am wildly ambitious. I've been away since I was young since before I had ideas about what's accented in me. But yeah, I think when you're shy like I was growing up and you don't feel seen in certain spaces, accomplishment was a way to be seen. It was a way for people to pay attention to me. Like I'm not brave enough or outgoing enough at this time to go up and talk to you and just be precocious off record. But when you put a mic in front of me or it's a stage play, it is action or it's go or the curtain opens, it forced me to take up space in a way that I knew I was capable of, but not wire to just do

13:23day in and day out. And so that kind of fed me in I think a really genuine way. But as I started to excel and achieve probably somewhere along the way early on, I got wrapped up in this idea of, oh, this is the only thing that makes me worthy of attention or your presence or your friendship or your romantic interest, you know, like so much of the story I told myself for a long time was this is why I have one engage with me. No, not even deserve. Or if I didn't have this, I wouldn't get this. You wouldn't engage. You know what I mean? It wasn't from a place of entitlement or arrogant. It was a place of insecurity of like, I've got to do all this to get the attention feel superficial. Yeah, I mean, maybe think about a bunch of stuff, but like access Hollywood, right? When something you've attached, part of your identity to ends, right? How do you separate this show as over from what does this say about me? I think because I've already detached from like who I am being like what I do,

14:29the end of an era. Like I have appreciated it. It's been 11-ish years, 12 years at E-News and Access Hollywood. All good things come to an end. It's bittersweet. The show's been on air for 30 years. But like, I'm excited for what's to come. Our last show is this week actually. It's this Thursday we'll film it. And it's kind of wild to like look at Friday and be like, what was what? I'm gonna just do what I want to do. I was just living my life. But I'm like so excited about that. I'm so excited to just look at the unknown. It don't get me wrong. Like the team's working. The contract's a big negotiate. The things are still in the fire. But I'm excited to look at this blank page for the end of 2026 and keep it blank on purpose. I just want to be and like, God surprised me and like see what existing calls in. And yeah. Is there any grief attached to Access Hollywood ending? That surprised you, Lily. Not really. I shed a few tears this past Friday. Like right before I got on the plane to come to New York, I filmed my last show up at the globe at Universal Studios.

15:33And sometimes when you're doing something every day, you forget how special it is. You know, in like little Z and Toledo, seven years old. Like Universal Studios. These are, they make the biggest films and shows that I've been right. And I'm just there every day, hosting a show. Like all right guys, that's it from Universal Studios Hollywood until next time. World of seeing your face. Yeah. And then to say it for the last time. And no, like that's it. So as soon as we wrapped, I did finally let myself feel it. And yeah, it's bittersweet, but I do feel like it's time. I'm excited for what is to come. Because also you get comfortable. Like if you do something long enough, and you can kind of do it without thinking too hard about it. And you love it. Like I genuinely loved it. Like you'll stay there. And I think it feels like God is just divinely clearing the table. Like one full suite. All right, we got more with Zuri Ho. When we come back is the Breakfast Club. Good morning.

16:33Human beings in a mind. What's the mind to a king? What's a king to a guy? What's the yacht to another Levi? Don't believe in anything. Holy naked eye. All right, all right. Don't judge him. Why? Hands on the muscle and floor. Blood stains, the collar, CMDs. Lies on the lips of a priest. Things given the sky to the feast. Rolling in the roast-roise commission. Only the doctors got to some hot front police. Co-cane seats. All white light. Got got the whole thing bleached. Dr. Della Sikka. I wonder if a dog's breath reached. His pies, pies, God loves pies. Socrates, exus, pies, we are C. Morning, everybody is DJ and V. Jess hilarious. Show them any guy we ought to breakfast.

17:34Club is still kicking it with Zuri Ho's. Lauren. You mentioned, I think all of you said God or your spirituality something. I was like, oh, it's the God piece of it. Like you got some point where you're just letting God. Yeah, do what you do. Let them do what he does. I think that's exactly it. Because like he's never let me down. And like there's so many things that I've wanted that I didn't get and I was mad. And then I saw the Y later, right? Like I just trust his process. Because it's going. You always been like that though. You think so? I used to be way more stubborn about like, I used to beat a door down. Like I used to stick around longer than the circumstances justified. It was like, no, I want to make this work. I'm too old. You love to breathe this out. I'm gonna try 20 years ago. I'm gonna try 20 years ago. Jack, I'm just, here's the first thing for her. Oh, my God. Jack, I'm gonna try. You was working with him. First thing to go, yeah, I know that's it. You hear me? Okay, I, yeah. Well, best thing ever happened to you.

18:34Knock it off. I might choke on the secular. All right. And I did your boy here. He said you the best thing to happen to me. What a, okay, one of one of you. That's hard to do. Wow. But, Charlie, like you, like I've told you that before though. Not to get all emo and woo, but like, back when I was at MTV and I was in New York, like that you were a very important person in my life. And it was a very complicated time for me. And I was dealing with like insecurity and you spoke so much life in me. And I remember when you were even like, I see you on the today show. Did it, did it, did it. Before I was even like speaking those things out loud. And I was like, yeah, well, I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. I was just on the today show yesterday, right? Yeah. And now and I go out there often to do press and promote et cetera. And I was just like, who is this guy? Just like speaking life into me and like seeing not more for myself. I saw a lot for myself, but just like he was so bold and what he would declare over my future. I'm got. But just a, he began to download. He downloads.

19:35Absolutely. Absolutely. What did, when you, before you knew her, what did, what came over your spirit where you were like, and she needs it and let me, because that's another thing too, was like, you be needing it, but did you not know I needed it? Or were you just being? Oh, God, they told me to tell you anything. Yeah. Literally, I would just see her and I saw the light and I'm God, I would tell you to tell it, tell it. He saw it. And then so much, like I can't even say how much. It was a really, I was struggling a lot with like, who am I? Because again, my identity was so wrapped up in my career at the time. And it wasn't doing what I wanted it to do. And then here comes his dude who's like crushing it, right? He's like top of his game. Incredible. Everyone knows him loves him. He's so impressive. And he's like looking at the leaves. I'm most people love him. I select few love. My first talk, she was very with my, uh, coast. Yeah, I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm coming. Was that? Yeah, that's right. You did the pilot in the first episode and then she left us to go to. That's it. Oh, I can dip sick around for. I got, we remember when Drake sent you those bottles. Yes, you know, I, you gave us all the champagne bottles and I took the metro home to Harlem and I was on the train

20:37with my champagne bottle and it was just giving high low, high low. Because they're like, how she got, was it Ace of Spain? She was on the train. Whatever. I was about to die. I'm not. I don't know. Whatever. Maybe she gave me the bottles to get him away. I did. Yeah. Zuri bottle. I was very happy. She was leaving. Did you see that? I was going to lie. Zuri was leaving. She was leaving. There you go. It was going to be. I got to go to the right. No, I was the way I popped out. You don't have to pop out. I'm going to die. I got to go to the right. I got to go to the left. I got to go to the left. I got to go to the left. I got to go to the left. I got to go to the left. You can't. Zuri is a phenomenal talent. You don't like put somebody like me. I need somebody to balance. Yeah. That's why I love working with envy all of you. Nice. And even y'all know. But back then, Zuri was the one. Did you ever side? No. Is Zuri. I need to come back up here. Yeah. I see you. I'm doing it. I thought, oh, once away. Nice way to be out the song. Show camera. I was like, oh, camera. But I was like, yes. Because LaNarde is like. You want to talk about Jacks? No, no, no. Is it hard to date in your role? Because you're such a boss. You're so strong. You're so powerful.

21:37Yeah. It can't be hard to date. I think traditionally, I have intimidated men more than they care to admit in the moment. But I will also say, as I focus on what I can control, which is me, I think it takes a lot of masculine energy to navigate worlds like this. And I say this with love, respect, appreciation, and acceptance of masculine and feminine energies. Like it's all necessary. And so I think for a long time, because my identity was so caught up in the work stuff, I thought the same quality traits and energy that got me the job were going to be impressive in relationship. Like, oh, look how little I need you. Look how I can do bad out by myself. Like I thought it was, oh, look, I'm choosing to be with you. I don't need to be with you. And I realized over time that for a lot of men, it was a turn off. Sometimes it was from a place of insecurity. I have dated some very successful, insecure men, situation shifts only. I think healthfully masculine man takes pride

22:41and being needed to a certain extent. It's like pride in being able to show up for you and provide. And I'm not just talking financially. I'm especially not talking financially because I didn't need that, but emotionally providing. And like, I want to be needed by you, right? I hate that, but I understand. Why do you hate it? What do you hate? To me, it feels like almost a dimming of life. You are who you are. Regardless, right? You are who you are. You're powerful. You're strong. And if men are insecure and don't understand it, yeah, that would be their loss. Right. I shouldn't have to say, I have to get in my feminine era to get that. Like, you're just a good, a good, a good, a good person. Sometimes, okay. Sometimes it takes the right gentleman to bring that soft era out of your health. Yes. Hello, right? Exactly. No insecurity. No insecurity. You don't get like nothing. I did not give a f*** that you're just a Larry's in committee. He loves just a Larry's who you are as a person. Exactly. And I couldn't get him with a half the f*** that I would do with others and with others. With him. Listen, my last question is, if everything you've

23:43accomplished so far was actually just preparation not the destination, right? Yeah. What do you think you've been prepared for? Oh my God. Wow. That is an incredible question. I need to sit with that one. I don't need, I can't even, I don't want to call a dancer. I don't need to be a f*** in an individual. I need to be prepared. Everybody has shots. I don't know, I think it's preparing me for. I realize I'm at a point in my life. Like I've been talking to a lot of women younger than I am, right, about a decade or so younger. And I am realizing the lessons I've been learning, the things that I'm still learning, some of the things that I'm angry about, disappointed about. I'm like, oh, it's not for me yet. Like I'll apply this lesson in my life eventually or in my future relationship. But when I'm pouring into them or I'm telling them when I'm learning or what I'm going through and they're saying, thank you for sharing that. Oh my God, like I appreciate your transparency, your vulnerability only in the last couple of weeks. I'm like, oh, that's what this is for. And so there is a selflessness that I am being taught. Like I think that's how God is working on me right now.

24:43I've always tried to be a giver and I loved in certain ways. But I've never thought that my pain, my experiences, my disappointments, or could be for someone else. Like maybe I did go through that, not for me. Maybe that was because I need to speak life into another woman. And it's going to move the needle there in a significant way. And that will eventually plant seas that whatever. And so over time, I'll look and see, oh, that actually moved the needle and change someone's life or lives for the better. I never thought about it like that. I never thought that my pain could be for someone else's game. And so I think maybe that is it. If there's like a lesson that I'm supposed to be learning, if there's a a why that I'm not aware of, it's like I'm going through this stuff, not for me so that at the finish line, I can be like, I conquered. I won. I got the gold medal. Maybe I'm just going through it to help my ears get a gold medal. I'm sorry. You need to come back up a little more. Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

25:44I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm not going to follow you with those words. Follow me on Instagram. I'm Zuri Hall. What else? I've got a substack. Zuri Hall. That's substack.com. I've been writing a lot about what I'm navigating right now, personal reflections, essays, etc. So yeah. I can't wait to see what you do next, because I know it's going to be amazing. That's right. Thank you, Shar. Thank you. I'm going to meet you. Thank you. Zuri Hall. Thank you, Lauren. It's the breakfast, Kelp. Good morning. Thank you.

27:24I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I'm ready. We can get into. And we can get into. The shower and your singing. Better than the round. Follow me on Instagram.