TORONTO — Host Ben Mulroney announced during Monday morning’s broadcast of CTV’s Your Morning he is stepping down from his anchor role on the channel’s Etalk entertainment show to make way for a new, diverse host.
Mulroney will continue to co-host Your Morning and contribute to Etalk on special assignments, including red carpet events such as the Oscars, says the Bell Media news release. He will also develop and produce new projects for Bell Media Studios.
Mulroney’s announcement comes less than two weeks after his wife, Jessica Mulroney, had her I Do, Redo reality series pulled off the air by Bell Media in response to how she treated a Black Toronto social media influencer, Sasha Exeter. That was quickly followed by Bell Media’s launch of a new Content Diversity Task Force in partnership with BIPOC TV & Film.
“Last Saturday, I watched on CTV as my colleagues led a national conversation about how we can take action against systemic racism. That conversation showed me, more than ever, we need more Black voices, more Indigenous voices, and more people of colour in the media… And that is why I have decided to immediately step away from my role as an anchor at Etalk to create a space for a new perspective and a new voice,” Ben Mulroney said Monday on Your Morning.
“It is my hope that the new anchor is Black, Indigenous or a person of colour who can use this important platform to inspire, lead and make change,” he added.
Click here to see Mulroney’s statement on this morning’s show.
“We’re proud of Ben for his decision,” said Nanci MacLean, vice-president of Bell Media Studios and president of Pinewood Toronto Studios, in the news release. “Ben has played an integral role in the success of Etalk, acting as a tireless champion of Canadian artists and productions.
“As part of Bell Media’s Content Diversity Task Force, Bell Media Studios is committed to diversity in front of and behind the camera,” added MacLean. “We will now begin the process of confirming a new anchor at Etalk in the next few weeks.”
Mulroney has been with Etalk since its inception in 2002. The show is also hosted by anchor Danielle Graham, and during her maternity leave by anchor Lainey Lui. Etalk also features senior correspondent Traci Melchor, reporters Chloe Wilde, Tyrone Edwards and Sonia Beeksma, and L.A. correspondent Liz Trinnear
