It looks like Michael Strahan’s exit from Live! with Kelly and Michael might be the biggest morning entertainment controversy since the scandal that hit Rock-a-Doodle a couple decades back. Mind you, you could have sorted that out from the reactions that have been coming fast and furious since yesterday.
Ripa was a no-show for this morning’s edition of the popular breakfast-time chat program. According to People, Strahan jumping ship to join Good Morning America has left the former Regis wrangler feeling quite wounded. Does the word betrayal pop up? Yes it does. Here’s what the magazine’s Ripa source had to say about the morning staple’s mood.
“She is feeling so hurt and betrayed on so many levels,” says a source close to Ripa, 45, who adds the host feels specifically hurt “by Michael.”
“So many levels” may sound a bit dramatic, but People‘s source notes that Ripa was Strahan’s “champion” back in 2011 when the hunt was on for a new co-host. She fought to have the New York Giants great on the program and it sounds like things actually turned sour for the smiley pair.
After Philbin, “She agonized over who would be the best partner for her in the long run. She wanted the same kind of partnership she had with Regis.” But shortly after launching into a successful run as a must-watch morning duo with Strahan, the source says the relationship began to splinter. “The minute he got in that seat he started acting like he was the biggest star on the planet.”
Of course, anchoring Live with Kelly and Michael gives you the power of 7-10 Good Day ____ hosts, but no one wants to hear a breakfast chat person has an attitude issue. Or maybe we do. It’s all one complicated web of things that you can ponder while eating an Eggo. The source says Ripa will be missing the rest of this week’s scheduled shows and “feels devastated and furious” over the matter which she feels is another example of ABC not valuing her or the show.
Strahan’s camp says there was no intention to upset the 45-year-old TV personality. They expressed to People that Strahan wanted to tell Ripa his plan to leave in person and aimed to do the right thing and provide “months notice.” Ripa’s reaction has apparently left the ex-NFL star feeling hurt as well.
“He is hurt by her reaction, of course,” the source tells People. “The very public way she’s handling this. You can’t not show up for work. If you’re going to have a meltdown you don’t do it publicly.”
We look forward to an FX original docu-drama series about all this and fear the “Unauthorized” Lifetime movie that’s bound to spring up too.
(Via People)
