Lester Holt is under fire as allegations of nepotism surface at 30 Rock — where sources exclusively tell In Touch the trusted face of NBC Nightly News been pushing for his son Stefan Holt to take his coveted anchor seat when he retires.
“As speculation swirls regarding Holt’s eventual successor, tensions are at a boiling point,” says an insider.
Adds the source, “They were eyeing Tom Llamas as Holt’s replacement, but Lester is actively advocating for Stefan,” who is now a news anchor at an NBC station in Chicago.
The looming Holt family dynasty has riled industry insiders, who say that the nepotism should have ended when they hired Jenna Bush Hager in 2009.
Lester, 65, and his wife, Carol, welcomed Stefan in 1987; he was raised in Chicago before moving to New York City at the age of 13.
“I consider myself such a lucky guy to have a great mentor [in my Dad], to have grown up and observed everything about this industry from an early age,” Stefan, now a father of three, told New York Family Magazine in 2019.
“[Now, I also] have a great mentor as a dad — on how to be a dad and how to be a father — and I definitely learn from my dad’s example as we raise Henry.”
Added Lester in that same interview, “I’m incredibly proud of Stefan. He has really done a good job of earning his own way — it’s not always easy being attached to a name of someone who’s got a lot of notoriety, but he’s really navigated it well. I wanted to make sure he had his space. He’s been here a while now, and we never obviously deny [our relationship], and it’s a healthy relationship, but we don’t look at it as a gimmick. I’ve had a very successful career, he’s on his way to an amazing career as well, and we’re supportive of each other.”
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