MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts talks to The Advocate about his decision to host the Miss Universe pageant in Russia. Roberts was offered the job after Bravo’s Andy Cohen dropped out. The Advocate asks Roberts if Cohen made the wrong decision:
No, I don’t think he made the wrong call, but in doing my own research on this, I was told that he wasn’t officially given the job — he decided to boycott before getting the official offer. So I don’t think he made the wrong call. From what I’ve read, I don’t know if it was his call to make. He decided to boycott before he had the offer. So, for me, this was something I thought was too great of an opportunity to miss out on. And I think Andy’s great. I think he’s done a great job before. But I appreciate that I know I can bring something else to this and be able to push the envelope a little bit further with being able to report for our networks.
Roberts says he hopes people will “have faith” in him: “I feel real strongly that I’ve always tried to be, not a perfect example, but a good example, of someone who can have a wonderful professional and personal life, and trying to do the right thing by his community. I’ve never denied this community. I’ve been a part of it for a long time now, and I hope to remain a good member in standing for a long time to come.”