Last week was Kelly Ripa’s return to Live with Michael Strahan following her five day absence. We initially heard that Strahan was leaving the show this September, and we learned that right around the same time that Kelly did, which prompted her early vacation. Then, when Kelly returned, ABC executives announced to the press that he would be leaving on May 13th. It’s unknown whether that decision was entirely mutual between Kelly, Michael, and the higher-ups, although reports claimed that they all agreed on his early departure.
We’ve heard that there’s no love lost between Kelly and Michael, but they seem to get along fine on screen. There may have been a small crack in that facade last week when Kelly asked Michael for his take on a story about a new trend with divorced parents. She referenced the fact that he’s divorced, which is true, and that was said to be unscripted. He looked surprised. You can see that clip above and here’s a description:
During the opening host chat, Ripa took an apparent dig at her soon-to-be-departing co-host by telling him enthusiastically, “There’s a great article in the paper and I want to get your take on it because I don’t have a take on it. But I want yours. So you’ve gotten divorced …”
Strahan looked taken aback at the mention of the word “divorce” and his face contorted into one of apparent shock and annoyance.
Ripa then launched into a bit about a story in The Post on the trend of “birdnesting” — where children live in one home and their divorced parents rotate in and out every couple of days.
Needless to say, Strahan didn’t like the idea. He also quipped that his ex-wife has a bigger house than he does.
The twice-divorced former NFL star was married to Wanda Hutchins from 1992 to 1996 and Jean Muggli from 1999 to 2006, which ended in a bitter, very public way. He shares two children with each woman.
I don’t see how that was so bad. If Kelly meant that as shade, it was subtle. She could have said, “you’ve gotten divorced a couple of times and have children with two different exes” and it would have been technically true. She was just stating a fact, and it related to the story they were discussing. Michael handled it well and related it back to his own experience. As Page Six points out, Kelly and Mark Consuelos just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.
There’s another long story which came out in Page Six this weekend with a lot of insider details about how Kelly and Michael’s relationship broke down (he was supposedly a temperamental diva) and how she reportedly parlayed her break into a nice raise and contract renegotiation. It was said to be Andy Cohen’s idea for her to take the extra days off after she learned Michael was leaving. I would say that the Page Six piece is camp Kelly but it doesn’t put her in a favorable light, either. As much as Strahan seemed moody, she sounds competitive and jealous of his rise to fame. I’ll just excerpt a little here and if you’re interested I would recommend you read the full piece.
According to an industry insider, Ripa managed to parlay the recent scandal into a raise on her already-hefty $20 million annual salary. (An ABC rep had no comment.) But the host is still fuming that she was informed mere minutes before a press release went public that Strahan would be leaving “Live” in September to become a full-time anchor on “GMA.”
The industry insider, who runs in the same circles as Ripa, says her refusal to come into work was a negotiation tactic recommended by pal Andy Cohen, executive producer of the “Real Housewives” franchise.
“Once the executives at ABC realized the huge mistake they made, they had to correct it — and the only way to correct it was with a big payday,” the insider says. Ripa’s contract is up in 2017, and the show has already been renewed through 2020.
There’s more, like the fact that Kelly realized that Michael was on the way out when he started to guest on Good Morning America, and that she resented the fact that he was “moving up on his own, creating his own brand.” Did she take this too personally or did she do what she had to do to keep control of the show she’s worked on for 15 years?
As for Kelly’s potential co-hosts, we’ve heard that she’s demanding that either Andy Cohen or Anderson Cooper, both longterm friends, replace Michael. Cooper recently confirmed that he’d be very interested in the gig. He’ll be one of the trial hosts this summer.
photos credit: WENN and Getty
I watched that clip, the full exchange. Much made out of nothing. They talk about things like this all the time in current events. And he actually went on to discuss why that would never ever happen for him. He even said he might as well not get divorced if that was case, sharing a house, and would he have to share the second house also with the ex as they rotate in and out, and made a joke about it.
Yeah, it sounds like a pretty ridiculous set up. I once knew a couple with a son who split up and kept living together in the same house with the woman’s mother. They came to their senses eventually, sort of. He moved to the U.S. to pursue his directing career and she followed him over with the son, but they lived in different houses at the point.
Surprise, surprise, surprise!
I’m not surprised. And good for her for getting a raise out of it. But also bad form. So it’s a wash.
–TheRealPinky
That’s how I feel too. I’m all for savvy business women, but the fact that she got ahead by playing the victim and creating a public spectacle does not make me respect her more.
Men do it all the time – those in Hollywood but there are never any huge “stories” about it. So good for her.
@hadleyb I’m sure both men and women play hardball and cause lots of drama behind the scenes. Off the top of my head I can’t recall a man who created a spectacle and used the sympathy to to get what he wanted. But if a man acted like that then I certainly wouldn’t be cheering him on either.
Actually, I can recall some male tv actors who went on strike, like that guy from Everybody Loves Raymond, Brad Garrett. But at least in those situations the actors are upfront about the fact that they are after more money. (not using something else as an excuse, while they are secretly negotiating for more money) And even they still get called brats.
So again, good for Kelly for getting a raise. But this whole ordeal didn’t make me respect her more than I did before.
A wash? Her complaint was that “she had no say, was not informed etc,” and THAT’s what she need to negotiate for. Co-producer status and power are really what she needed to go for. I think the raise rumor, is some BS face-saving.
THIS times 1,000
The real pinky summed it up PERFECTLY.
I cant believe there is still an audience for these morning talk shows. Full of drama and divas.
YEAH! If that’s the pinnacle for someone’s career, then I’m not impressed much. I like him when he’s talking football, but these entertainment gigs are rather embarrassing to watch. Goofy.
Agreed! She should just be grateful she has such a glamorous job that only 1% of the population can enjoy….meanwhile I’m working 50 hours a week and cutting coupons and paying student loans 16 years after graduating college…
K. I’m gonna say it. Would Ms. Ripa be so demanding of respect from a white co host?
So over this crap.
I thought that too but gave her the benefit of the doubt.
Yeah but that has ended for me. She is playing him on TV.
If he erupts on live TV, she wins. It won’t go over well to have a big black athlete being nasty and combative to a tiny blonde. She knows this. I thought she was fake before but now I dislike her.
I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but his career intentions and negotiations are none of her business. It came across to me as an “I MADE you, so you OWE me” attitude.
@GNAT,
except where does that attitude come from.
He was already a co host of a tv show – fox sports
He has a failed sitcom under his belt – like her
He was already loved by millions prior to LIVE
What did she do for him but agree to hire him?
Oh, I’m not defending her, just agreeing that her attitude seems really off.
She sure didn’t act like this when Regis left….and my understanding is that she was given similar amount of notice. I too believe this has somewhat to do with the fact that Michael is a man of color.
I think thats BS. You are reaching with him being black.
She didn’t act this way with Regis because he did make her, he said it many times and she said she knew it and was grateful.
Who knows he could be a full on asshole diva behind the scenes .. recall Reese and Julia being everyones sweetheart and now we know they are just big divas as well with a bad attitude.
I completely disagree and that’s a very big accusation to throw at someone.
She is the one with top billing. It’s a completely different situation from when Regis left. She’s the main anchor and got sidelined. I don’t believe for an instance that this is anything to do with his color. I do believe she’s furious that there’s a boys’ club at the network. She’s been marginalised and if they’ve given her more money now well good for her but I bet she’d rather have been treated with respect through the whole saga.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think Kelly’s actions had anything to do with race, but I also don’t believe that she was “blindsided” due to sexism. I mean even the longtime male producer of the show was informed at the same time that Kelly was. Not everything can be blamed on racism or sexism. ( and I say this as a woc)
Thank you Goldie. My thoughts too. Sexist? Nope.
Regis was a legend! Regis allowed her to take over for Kathy Lee, and he was retiring not taking another job.
This will probably post in the wrong place 😃
@ JESS- I don’t believe color had anything to do with KR’s reaction-
I’ve heard and read many times that KR, along with Gelman’s help-
pushed Regis out because he was too “fuddy duddy,” too old, etc. If that’s only partially true, than she would/should have been happy & relieved about “Reege” leaving and didn’t care that she got such short notice. As for KR being angry about MS’s departure:
Was she only angry that she wasn’t included and/or that he,as a POC got so successful so fast with her help but WITHOUT his gratitude? I don’t think so, but really who in the hell can say?
I think Ms Ripa believes she is owed respect by everyone because do you know who she is?
I would rather she had left and he had stayed. I love him. He brings energy and fun. She is so very self absorbed. It gets old quickly.
I watched this show pretty regularly when Michael first joined. I was not working and honestly, only watched because of him. I thought they had great chemistry and he def brought the show up a bunch in appeal. You could see their on set audience grew and when the guests would come out to be interviewed, they all seemed intrigued by him. I remember C Baransky was a guest and she went in for a long hug and had a star struck gaze at him the whole time.
I don’t think this was about race unless you consider the green monster a racist thing. Kelly was majorly jealous of the attention he received and I think Michael realized he was bringing in the $$ for this show and he was being paid what $4mm vs her $15-20mm? I’d be pissed too if I was him.
Yes it would have been the same if he was white and it’s rediculous to say otherwise. He was second chair and I think she felt like she had to play by certain rules for Regis as second chair to make him happy that she’d get the same respect when she was first chair.
From what I understand she fought for it to be Michael, but I think she thought she’d get the same first chair perks Regis got at didnt because she was a woman. I think Michael has little to do with this sounds like she is mad at the network and a bit herself for letting these men (Regis, network, etc) do this for 26 years and she just played nice and by the “rules” when she was the draw for 15 years when she should have said nope my career first and cope.
I agree with all of you. Kelly purposely disrespected Michael. Any upset she has should be directed at her bosses. She was already making 20 million per year. She parlayed her “hurt” into a pay raise, contract extension and got rid of a cohost she disliked all in one shot. Not bad for a “victim”. She would be nothing without this show. As another person said Kelly was less than gracious towards Regis in a similar situation. I would not be surprised if she makes Michaels last days a nightmare. I am no fan of Michael or this silly show but Kelly needs to sit down. And I agree that she would not have acted out on television if her cohost were white.
Oh FFS!! Race does NOT have to play into everything every time!
Well she pretty much got Regis Philbin dumped so I think race wasn’t a factor.
What? How in the hell does race come into play here? GMAFB!!
You forget the same thing happened with Regis and she was pissed then too. Only now she is older and wiser and has the benefit of a past experience. I disagree that there’s more to it than that. Plus once you are over forty you are sick and tired of being patted on the head as the “girl” by male business types and you start to stand up for the respect that maturity demands.
I don’t think it’s a big deal IF he was forwarned that she’d be referencing his divorce(s)
From his reaction it appears he wasn’t and I’d be peeved too! I hope she’s not going to be taking pot shots til he leaves as that will play into the bitch narrative that she should avoid
I called it last week. Her whole “outrage” at being “disrespected” (for getting months worth of notice about a co-worker leaving) was a tactic to gain an edge in a negotiation. She may have won some concessions this round, but – I’ll call it again – she will find herself out of that job sooner than she expects. Playing hardball in a negotiation is one thing – making a public spectacle out of it and using shady tactics, which is what she did here, is wrong and companies have a long memory.
Doubt she’ll care at that point. She’s set for life.
I agree, vauvert. They won’t forget this, and neither will her audience the next time she manipulates them for her own fain. And Dangles, she has made it pretty clear that she cares. Money isn’t her only motivation. She loves the “fame.”
She had the advantage this time because the network didn’t want to transition two new hosts at the same time. So she could have won the same concessions graciously by having the discussions privately, without appealing to public sympathy for what I consider imaginary wrongs (although many here disagreed).
But this a really bad strategy for the long term – and I think she will very much care when her income drops from $20M to whatever she can find in endorsements. The public is fickle enough not to care in a year when she is out of a job.
You are assuming the network would keep the show. I think a la the Today show they will just add another hour of GMA, and a la today show let the stations decide whether or not to take the hour. Probably would make the same amount of money as they do off of Live syndicated if not more with cost cutting. She and her people probably already think this too, and are just trying to get the ratings up and more time. At her age and talent level it would be hard to find another $20+ million dollar job and my guess is everyone is trying to make as much publicity and money as possible while they can. I know some feel for the crew, but the reality is networks don’t care about the crew, and they are saving them by giving them more time a more warning. Most members of the crew probably already figured out that the show might be on the chopping block. I don’t think it is a bad long term strategy, because I think she realizes her prospects because of age and sex are kind of limited. You have to admit this whole thing has a lot of more legs than I would have thought of.
Yes you did call it and it did seem like there was a lot more to this. Now I even think worse of her for pretending it was a feminist stance which I never once believed.
@vauvert. Do you think they will let heo go or just cancel the show? I personally hope they cancel her sorry butt
My personal feeling (as someone not watching tv at all at this point and just streaming a few shows, so limited knowledge) is that they will cancel the show within a year. Any sooner and she will claim disrespect and whatever… so to keep it all professional they will let her think she won with a bigger pay check, they might even give her Andy(? I think her friend Andy) whom she wants as co-anchor and then they will set up an extra hour of GMA within the year.
And after her recent unprofessional behaviour, garnering some public support by play acting the injured female whose feelings were hurt, she has limited her options as far as similar jobs go. Mind you, unless you happen to like her personality, it doesn’t sound to me like she has the qualifications for the job – no journalism background, no solid acting career… being the bubbly blond making small talk for $20M was really a fabulous gig for her. No idea why she thought that playing the victim when completely unwarranted would serve in the long term.
@Vauvert: yeah, I think of it as winning the battle and losing the war.
Drama Queen. She is acting like a spoiled brat having a temper tantrum. Kind of ridiculous. Someone gets millions of dollars for sitting in a chair and talking to celebrities and other nonsense should just be grateful. Someone decides to leave and she was “blindsided”…I’m sure there was a legit reason they didn’t tell her ahead of time, so she needs to just take things down a notch. I think she is either a diva or this is scripted…
Agree. Also, had he just left the show without a promotion would she have had the same fit for not being told ahead of time?
Women want & deserve respect & equal treatment in the workplace. This is not how to do it. LR’s antics just perpetuate the myth that woman are overly emotional & difficult to work with. Can’t stand her. Hope the show tanks after MS leaves.
My vote is for Jerry O’connell or Anderson Cooper.
I read Mario Lopez was gunning for this job. Can you imagine? She’d really walk out permanently.
I kind of like him 🙂
Please don’t take this badly …
But I always saw Anderson Cooper as a “real” news reporter, not a morning show host who I imagine interviews real housewives and celebrities and talks about lost kittens (KITTENS). Wouldn’t this be a step down? Or am I completely off base here?
I was just thinking the same thing about Anderson Cooper.. that this is a step down and he does so many (or at least used to! No tv…) important stories. Is Live really necessary as a tv vehicle now? All the am shows are pretty chatty now.
p.s. but I agree that she deserved to fight on this one.
That’s what has me baffled too. Anderson Cooper is way too good for this
He did his own silly talk show — so he’s capable of doing something light. I’d rather have Jerry though because I think she needs someone very game.
He’s in it for the fame.
I would love to see Jerry, too! I think what would help is if Kelly’s new co-host isn’t already a good friend of hers. I think it would be hard to work with a good friend, especially on a talk show.
Good for her.
That’s my take as well. She is a woman in a very tough male dominated industry, so I can’t hate on her for leveraging the situation in her favor.
What she really needed to negotiate was some status as a co-producer of this show. Sources may claim she got some money (for what exactly?) but she did not get herself more power. Most long-standing stars of TV show eventually get some producer cred?
I was starting to have some empathy for her and then I saw the clip of her shading him. It was so deliberate. I imagine May 13th can’t get here fast enough for him. What is she 12?
I agree. As a divorced person, a smug little comment from a person never divorced really annoys me. She knew what she was doing.
Ripa, IMO doesn’t have a happy marriage. She has an arrangement. Her husband is a hanger-on househusband to the Ripa gravytrain. He’s just a Hampton weekend boy toy.
Ripa, wishes she had more than that.
I think it was total shade. As a person going through it I saw it clearly. Smug and deliberate not to mention cheap.
I agree.
Especially when you consider how bad his divorce was. It was brutal. His wife tried smearing his reputation. The look on his face when Kelly did it, said it all.
As does all the negative stories coming out about him from sources. They have one that said Strahan was on such a tirade that a producer hid from him under the stairs he was so scared.
So, if he was so scary, awful, why would Kelly be upset that he is leaving?
More from the negative whisper campaign is this theme that he was a traitor to Live by taking the part-time GMA gig in the first place. And that Kelly was offered the same job but turned it down because she wanted to focus solely on Live. Along with charge that Strahan was using Live to increase his profile.
All of which completely ignores the fact that Kelly did the prime time sitcom, Hope & Grace thanks to her increased profile on Live. And that a prime time sitcom is far more distracting than reading a teleprompter two days a week on GMA.
The on-air shade and negative whisper campaign has really impacted my view of Kelly.
Not only is she tarnishing his reputation, but that of ABC, and GMA.
Their attempt to win the morning ratings war against the Today show has been impacted by her on-going tantrum.
Good for her. As others have said previously, this isn’t a simple case of a co-worker leaving – it’s an overhaul and effectively re branding of a show that has her name in the title. If she managed to get a pay day as a result of ABC exec’s f-up, then good for her.
I don’t know why the ‘crazy bitch’, ‘spoilt brat’ and ‘drama queen’ narrative has to follow around a woman just because she wasn’t a pushover. I very much doubt Regis would have 1. been treated this way 2. Been accused of being a money grubbing drama queen had the situation been different and HE had been notified of HER departure the way Kelly has been notified of Michael’s.
I couldn’t disagree more. No one said she she had to be a pushover. She’s not a pushover – she makes a fortune. But can you imagine a man running away and crying for two days over hurt feelings? Tweeting how “betrayed” he felt and *sob* I thought you were my friend!! Please. It was manipulative, emotional, unprofessional and worst of all stereotypical. She didn’t do women any favors with this one.
But she didn’t, did she? I couldn’t find any tweets of hers. There was a People Magazine tweet that I saw though.
How about the book clutching photos and sending Cohen out as her mouthpiece about Michael? I again agree GNAT.
@gnat agree totally!
A man wouldn’t need to.
@Kate
That’s ridiculous. You don’t know a single man who has been treated badly by his superiors at work? Taken for granted, or passed over, or humiliated or otherwise disrespected? You must either not work or not know any men. I believe we have a lot of problems with sexism in our country, but there are plenty of men who have been treated badly, cheated, not promoted when they should have been. Sexism isn’t the only problem. Nepotism, racism, homophobia – men do not have perfect little lives when nothing bad ever happens to them and it does feminism no good to pretend they do.
Howling. They won the Daytime EMMY last night:
Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host
Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan, “Live with Kelly and Michael
That’s too bad- I was hoping for two new hosts.
Good comments but Regis had been in the business his entire career, he’s was retiring, not getting a promotion. It’s was a come up for Michael, to move on to something with a bigger salary. I would pissed as well, but that’s how you make more money in my world, you leave. I guess it’s nice to know they valued her enough to allegedly give her a raise and renew her contract. But how she achieved that wasn’t professional, in my opinion.
Whatever. BS. Her contract is up for negotiation later this year or early next. This show is on the chopping block.
Good for her, if you want to advance in business you have to go to the table with the realization that absolutely no one will do anything for you out of the kindness of their heart.
Kelly was smart and managed to parlay that into more money and a higher profile, even if they cancel the show she cut herself a better check.
There is no reward in always being obedient and playing by the rules, especially when your male co-workers will get raises faster, better positions quicker and more seniority as if it was their God-given right. To get ahead in business you have to be able to be more clever and willing to shake things up.
100% agree with you. I’m getting the impression that people here are angrier about feeling played for getting invested in the story when Ripa knew exactly what she was doing-game, set, match.
As I said above, can you imagine a man behaving the way she did? You can be professional and still not be a pushover. It’s not one or the other. She used her “hurt feelings” and “feelings of betrayal” and poor little me to gain sympathy for her cause from the audience. Look at those bad men being mean to sweet little Kelly! She thought he was her friend! This is business. Using (fake) emotions to win this battle worked, but I think it reflects badly on her and gives more validity to arguments that women are too emotional to be the equals of men in the work place. Women shouldn’t be president because they can’t handle their emotions. I think it stinks.
I agree, ESE. This was never about feelings, it was about her product having a solid game plan going forward and not being left on shaky ground. Not giving her enough of a heads up didn’t allow her (and her publicists) to have a media response prepared when they were reached out to for a reaction. She expected to be treated professionally, and she wasn’t.
I don’t think she used her “feelings” to gain traction here. She used her value to the show. She knows her efforts have worth and it seems her negotiating paid off. Having his send off week during sweeps will set up better advertising revenue for her show going forward through the year, even after he is gone. Business wise, that is great for her product. .
All I know is what I have seen in the business world. A man would NEVER take two days off to pout if he felt he wasn’t treated well. He would write a strongly worded memo, have his lawyer contact the company, storm into the CEO’s office or demand a meeting. He would state his objections to the the treatment in a manner that was strong and factual, not about his hurt feelings, and he say what he expected them to do to fix it. If he ran away because he couldn’t handle his emotions, he might get what he wanted in the short term, but he would be seen forever as weak and unprofessional. If you think you’re going to gain respect as a woman in the business world by crying, pouting, stamping your feet, talking about how betrayed you feel, you’re just wrong. Would Hillary Clinton do that? Or Michelle Obama? Or Sandra Day O’Conner? Or Serena Williams? Or Queen Elizabeth? No, they would not.
We don’t know whether she used memos or emails or phone calls or meetings to express her displeasure to her superiors. The idea that she was “pouting”, and not withholding her services in a sort of strike, is IMO an interpretation of her actions that is influenced by your view of her. We don’t know if when discussing the changes that she didn’t use facts to support her case. She very easily could have noted that when Regis left it was agreed upon by all members that she would be given x amount of heads up if her co-host ever switched positions. We don’t know in which manner she argued her cause.
The bottom line is that it seems there are a lot of guess about how she discussed her treatment with her superiors, and most of it seems to include stereotypes of female distress: pouting, crying, stamping feet. Why are those assumption being made?
It’s always been about the money for Kelly. I believe she started planning this “more money” negotiating tactic two years ago. She wasn’t blindsided because it’s been leaked that, when she was told in the meeting that Michael was leaving, she had a fit and said she had told them this would happen two years ago. She knew it was coming. Kelly’s anger is mainly because Michael is moving up and getting a huge pay raise. How dare he make possibly the same amount of money in record time?!! Her true colors are showing. She’s tasted the glamorous lifestyle and she’s going to do anything to keep it even if she has to embarrass her boss, coworker, and the show in the process. The divorce part of the show was no accident and she did it just to hurt Michael.
Anderson cooper had that daytime talk show happening for awhile. He actually had good guests and I think it did well with ratings. Idk why it was cancelled. Maybe ratings went down or maybe Anderson couldn’t handle CNN and his own talk show at the same time. He has great chemistry with kelly tho
So over Kelly Rippa…. This crap speaks volumes about her. Literally! You are not a victim, only if you choose to be. Put your big girl panties on and move on. Nothing worse than a whiny woman playing the victim card. Not surprised at all Strahan wants the hell out of there.
–
NEVER, forget from which you came…. And she certainly has!
Co-Sign 1,000%
“Big girl panties” is such a sexist phrase.
True, but what did you expect from someone who thinks “nothing is worse than a whiny woman playing the victim card”?
I’m not a fan of the phrase, but I’ve seen plenty of people tell men to “put on their big boy pants.” It’s not something just directed at women.
I don’t think big girl panties is sexist necessarily. I see how it was in this case, but it just means to grow up. When you’re a child and you wear diapers, you want to be older and wear big girl panties. That’s all it means.
Duh. Of course she was trying to get a raise. I’m sure her agents and lawyers knew exactly what she could get away with without being fired and advised her how to maneuver. The industry is about cash. But after watching those 2 segments where she tried to mean girl her coworker, I’d say she’s not about anything. Very classless behavior.
Agree 100%.
Really an overpaid talking head. Not a fan of hers, will follow Michael to GMA
Hey Real Housewives, Andy Cohen just gave you a way to get more money!
I cannot believe Anderson Cooper actually has any interest in this show.
I watched the clip. I didn’t notice anything odd going on (except for maybe the part where Strahan looked up a bit, but I thought he was just joking around.) She didn’t say “divorce” in any cryptic kind of way and he seemed to have no problem answering. Maybe I’m blind…
Strahan goes from being an Emmy award-winning co-host of a highly rated talk show to a game show host and occasional talking head on GMA. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah. What a fool. He blew his brand. And by the look on his face lately, he knows it. He needs to fire his “team.”