Michael Strahan has co-hosted Live! with Kelly Ripa for nearly four years now. Kelly has been on the show for fifteen, since Kathy Lee Gifford left and she co-hosted with Regis Philbin, who retired in 2011. (He’s still kicking at 84, I just checked.) So you would think that Kelly would be one of the first people to learn that her longterm co-host was leaving the show to join Good Morning America. According to outlets including TMZ, E!, and People that wasn’t the case and Ripa found out via a memo to the entire network like everyone else. No one at her workplace, not even Strahan, gave her a heads up and she was understandably “livid.” According to E! Strahan couldn’t tell Ripa because network execs told him not to.
About an hour after LIVE! With Kelly and Michael aired Tuesday, an internal memo at ABC revealed he would be leaving the show by summer’s end to work on Good Morning America full-time. His co-host, Kelly Ripa, did not receive a heads up. In fact, E! News has learned that executives broke the news to her just after the show finished taping—around the same time everyone else first heard about it. “She was livid,” a source says exclusively. “It wasn’t pretty.”
Strahan joined Ripa and others in the meeting. “He wanted to be there. He didn’t have to be, but he didn’t want to have her hear it and not be there,” the source says. “He tried to do the stand up thing.” Strahan, who replaced Regis Philbin in 2012, has been a correspondent on ABC’s Good Morning America since 2014. When executives decided to move him to the news show full-time, they intentionally kept Ripa and others key staff members in the dark to prevent leaks. “That was a network decision,” the source says, adding that it was a carefully executed plan. “It wasn’t an overnight decision and took some time to put it in place.”
Strahan didn’t have a say in the matter.
“He’s not the boss,” the source tells E! News. “He is an employee of the network.”
That’s a weak excuse that network execs they were worried about leaks. They could have at least told Kelly, that would have only been fair. People confirms E!’s version of events and adds that Kelly “went crazy.”
TMZ is reporting that while it’s true that Strahan was under orders not to tell Ripa, “Kelly and Michael don’t get along” and Ripa feels like “he’s disrespectful to her and is full of himself.” In an earlier story, TMZ revealed that ABC is considering canceling Live and adding a third hour to Good Morning America, which is facing stiff competition from The Today Show.
Ripa did not host Live! on Wednesday and was replaced by Ana Gasteyer. Sources tell US Magazine that Ripa took a sick day. Strahan had some nice things to say about her, and about his time on Live, at the end of the show, but who knows if he’s paying lip service.
People has a source close to Strahan who says that “He very much wanted to do the right thing” by telling “her in person and [giving] her months notice” but that he couldn’t. Strahan is said to be “hurt by her reaction” and “the very public way she’s handling this.” Their source added “You can’t not show up for work. If you’re going to have a meltdown you don’t do it publicly.” It’s not public! Kelly didn’t show up for work. She didn’t tweet or Instagram anything. She may have gotten mad at work but she didn’t make her response public, she just took time off, as is her right.
It looks like this show is about to get canceled and like they put off telling Ripa until it was absolutely necessary. People is reporting that it’s unknown when Kelly will return to the show. A source tells them that Kelly plans to stay out this entire week. Additional stories have come out stating that Kelly is on a 20th anniversary vacation with her family and husband, Mark Consuelos, in Turks and Caicos. Apparently the trip was planned already and she was supposed to be out on Friday and Monday, but left early when she was blindsided by the news of Strahan leaving the show.
photos credit: WENN.com
The Live show is a career destination for Kelly Ripa. It was just a stepping stone for Michael Strahan. The writing was on the wall as soon as they put him on GMA.
+1000000
I thought the same.
Probably true, but I blame ABC 100% for this mishandling and confidential contract, causing unnecessary drama and gives no respect to an employee who has been hosting a show for over 10+ years.
*3 hours of Good Morning America??? The writing on the wall is that ABC is taylor-swift-control-freak-like these days. (They already own so much crap it’s ridiculous)
Kelly Ripa in essence took a show from Regis and thought she would own it for as long as he did.
Whether that is the impression ABC and Regis gave or it is the truth, doesn’t matter. A high school graduate managed to get a job that pays 15 to 20 million a year and ABC felt she would stay regardless of how she was told about Michael’s exit.
A co-worker, nonfriend, is under no obligation to tell you when they are interviewing. This happens everyday in our lives.
ABC was under no obligation to tell her until the deal was final. However, they chose not to deal with her drama and tell her at the same time they told the world.
This means she should look for another job. They don’t care about her.
I’m with Denisemich. Ripa is no innocent even though she plays the innocent. She wanted him fired but feels she has the right to know of his comings and goings ahead of other employees. She is technically just another employee – rank does not matter. I don’t see her needing to know before other employees as anything more than a false sense of entitlement – she does not know her place, so she got put in her place. I see it all as sour grapes because she wanted him fired but in essence, he was promoted.
As far as, “She may have gotten mad at work but she didn’t make her response public, she just took time off, as is her right. ” – I would say that taking time off w/out notice before approved vacation leave is a very public temper tantrum. Twitter and Instragram might be a direct method of conveying specific thoughts, but leaving the show hanging at this time is basically a public display. He owes her nothing. The network owes her no more than any other employee. Good luck to Strahan at his full-time network news job. Kelly can keep her Live co-host spot on the show she thought she ran. I love it when somebody tries to use their influence to f–k another person over only for that person to move ahead rather than backward.
@DeniseMich ETA & @jenniferjustice
I wholeheartedly agree, I don’t care that she took the day off, although I think it’s incredibly unprofessional to take a day off of a live tv show without a lot of notice, but whatever. Her perogative.
To me, the way she’s acting is petulant, babyish and really spoiled.
Michael did his thing, the network did their thing and if she didn’t immediately lose her job while both of those things happened, I don’t see why she feels she deserves anything more.
You could want more, you could hope for more, on an emotional level, but you can’t EXPECT more from a bunch of business professionals who are all trying to do their jobs and succeed at their personal game.
To expect your costar to breach a contract is unreasonable. To expect him to give you a heads up is silly, they aren’t friends! To take it personally is unreasonable. If you don’t feel secure in changes that are going on around you at work, make a change and cover your ass for yourself, just like everyone else is doing.
The fact that her “freaking out” is a story all over the Internet proves that she didn’t act professionally. As in getting the news, taking it in, going home quietly, throwing your tantrum at home and then calling in for the next day.
Thank god the three of you commented. That’s exactly what I was going to say.
ETA: how does she have a “right” to take a day off a nationally broadcast show without notice, yet he doesn’t have the “right” to keep his employment info to himself?!?! Bullshit.
Well this isn’t new. Wasn’t Joan Lunden forced or aged out years ago from GMA? Yeah I’m really dating myself by mentioning that!
Lainey stated on her site that when Regis quit they told Kelly 20 minutes right before they went on air. Lainey questioned if its the other way around would they have blindsided Regis? I don’t know. Something doesn’t sound right. If that’s the truth then I too blame ABC higher ups for this outcome.
I’ve watched the show ever since Michael came on as a co-host, and I’ve always liked Ripa since her days on soaps, but there has been a noticeable lack of chemistry between them, I’d say in the last year. In the beginning, they were friendly off-set, which Ripa was not with Regis. I thought the lack of chemistry had to do with Michael’s busy schedule (GMA, football hosting, Live) and not any personlaity issues. I’m rather shocked.
But for the network, I like Michael but not enough to watch GMA. Three hours, are they crazy? Hopefully they will replace Michael with Neil Patrick Harris. Kelly and he are great together.
Kelly and her family attended Michael’s Hall of Fame ceremony and raved about how wonderful he is. I think that was a few yrs ago. I wonder what changed between them.
When Kelly was papped this morning she had the book David and Goliath very visibly held in her hand. She easily could have tucked it into her bag. She was sending a message.
Not NPH, please! He’s insufferably arrogant & self-satisfied.
TMZ reported that she makes upward of 15 MILLION a year?! Holy hell! ME NEXT! LOL
Yup.
She thought they were the best of friends, but ultimately it’s all business and money. That’s the bottom line. Of course it’s hard not to take it personally, but in reality it’s a cutthroat money game and she needs to realize that.
You are right on. In most cases, even where folks are making $15 an hour; let alone her hourly salary of $8400 an hour (based on her salary) the Powers That Be always tel you to be quiet until they can announce the change.
Now having said that; whomever leaked the story is the real Bad Guy; Michael isn’t leaving until September – which would have left PLENTY of time for him to speak to Kelly & Gellman.
Disney needs to step in and fix this; but they won’t because it’s creating attention.
Personally; I believe Live will be cancelled and GMA will take over that hour AND that is the REAL reason Kelly is hurt. She believes she is the darling of the show and perhaps that position was something she wanted, rather than Michael.
Just my 2 cents.
Calling in sick, really? Unprofessional. Makes her look like a diva with a giant attitude. It’s not like she was his *boss*.
There’s nothing wrong with what she did. If you know you can’t keep your emotions in check and you can afford a sick day then stay home. Don’t show up and trash everyone else’s day.
Especially on a live tv show.
But she actually made a HUGE public spectacle at work, enough so that we are writing about it and reading about it. She successfully trashed her show, her execs and her costar with her hissy fit at work. That isn’t keeping your emotions in check, it’s the equivalent of stomping her foot. AND I WON’T EVEN SHOW UP TOMORROW! So there, find someone else in 24 hours!
Looks like they timed it that way, if she’s off this weekend. They knew she would be upset and didn’t want to deal with it.
Kelly isn’t an idiot. She knows that this means they’re considering cancelling Live, and that’s a really crappy way to learn about it. She had the sick time, use it.
How are Live’s ratings? I never heard anything about cancelling it til now. Have these been rumors for a while??
I personally would watch Live over a third hour of GMA.
I’m not sure on Live’s ratings, though other folks have said they’re pretty good. And these rumors are new, with this whole Strahan thing, but it makes sense considering that they’re directly competing with Today. Personally, I’d say keep Live and can The View – how on earth is that not the discussion?
LIVE’S ratings are GREAT! They are tied or beat Dr.Phil as the #1 talk show ans they are #1 in the key 25-54 key demo’s that advertisers want. I don’t know why all of this happened right before May Sweeps start! They would get rid of LIVE first because it’s syndicated and that cost money, but ABC owns The view out right! I still don’t see Strahan as good fit for GMA, and while everyone is complaining about Kelly taking her sick days, Mikey was a NO SHOW at his own charity event! I feel for Kelly, this is the 2nd time she was blindsided by her partner quitting, Regis did it 15 min before they went on air, and Strahan did it without telling her. Now i know he was told not to, but he could have given her a heads up.
Susan, maybe he couldn’t trust Kelly to keep the news to herself.
There is got to be way more to this story than anyone is letting on. Cause I can’t think of any reason they wouldn’t give his co-host a heads up before making the announcement. If I was Kelly I would be mad too……
Agreed. The idea of not telling her because they don’t want leaks is odd too. There are power plays happening and she’s been left standing in a game of musical chairs. It’ll be interesting to see how she plays this. How much longer is her contract?
Well it wouldn’t be the first time that someone leaked something they weren’t supposed to in order to try and gain the upper hand. Maybe they thought she would take the news poorly and didn’t trust her to keep it a secret. This is clearly about more than just her being blindsided, she’d have been upset either way.
There have been rifts in the past at GMA as well. They don’t all get along either. Lara Spencer was rumored to have been promised the job Michael is filling so maybe they wanted it quiet on that side as well.
Either way this is crappy to do to Kelly.
I don’t understand why she is mad. When she was first hired on Live they tried her in various spots to see if they could give her a bigger career. After a horrible sitcom failure, she parked her tush in the co-host chair and has done the bare minimum to keep the money rolling in.
She essentially works at most 2hrs a day but gets paid $20 million a year. Don’t feel bad for her.
I think she is mad because she knows her show is about to get cancelled. Not only that, but since he got what I assume is considered a better job, he is partly to blame for the cancellation. It’s like he’s jumping ship and punching another hole in the boat.
Jen43, that sounds plausible. Good analogy.
For Michael it’s a better job and a huge pay bump (he’s likely making a fraction of what she makes now), and he’d probably rather be on GMA than Live.
But for Kelly, no. That wouldn’t be a better job. She’s not a newscaster (which is the scenario where she’d want to jump ship), and there’s no way they’d match her $20 million dollar salary. And Live is really her show now, no matter who the co-host is.
I would be really angry/upset too. If you are part of 2 person team and the other person is moving on, you deserve the courtesy of being told in advance. IMO it is about professionalism and respect. I also think that Michael could have insisted on telling her at least a few hours in advance and I don’t buy the “he had no choice” story.
Ultimately though, I agree that there is a lot more going on here and the show will most likely be cancelled. Hopefully they’ve saved their money and she can walk away easily.
I’m surprised you think she works 2 hours a day.
I don’t understand the sympathy here for Ripa. She wanted him fired and tried to throw her weight around to make it happen. They let him go but they let him go into a better position for his career. If somebody wanted you fired and you did end up leaving, would you want the person who tried to get you fired, to be privy to any information about you before anybody else? and why did she want to know? to gloat? He owed her nothing but an f— you when he left. I’d say it is Strahan who is showing a bit of class by saying nice things about her and maintaining his professionalism.
What she’s really mad about is that she thought she’d get her way and he’d be fired. Instead he basically got promoted and now her show is on it’s last legs. Gotta’ love the irony.
@JenniferJustice– where did you hear she wanted him fired?
I don’t know, either.
Her sitcom, while crappy, did run for 3 years. Hardly a “failure” in that sense.
Seriously… these morning shows…
This genre is the main one that tout how close, bestie/family-like their onscreen talent are and yet, fcukery ensues. And frankly, the unnecessary type.
Star Jones, Ann Curry and now Strahan… mind you, his exit was voluntary, but still SMH.
They did the same thing to her when Regis left. She didn’t know beforehand. So I think it’s not just this situation but also that this is the second time AND they might cancel the show (which does really well). So it must sting for her and everyone working at Live
I’m not sure TMZ is right with the cancellation talk. Live! does really well, GMA does not. I think he was lured to boost GMA to appeal to a younger audience. Kelly is a good fit for Live! so they wanted her to stay put I’m sure there is a lot of ego stuff behind the scenes. The producers always seem to botch these things.
They need to cancel The View before they cancel Live! Two different time slots I know, but that show is way past its sell by date. Or get a panel of intelligent, articulate women to discuss important issues.
KB– EXACTLY. The View is the show continually rumored to be cancelled for yrs! I have never heard anything about Live doing poorly or being cancelled. That would be crazy. I think it was strictly more money for Michael and he decided to leave. I don’t think Live will be cancelled and if so that would be foolish.
I’ve heard rumors that the Live! Producer Michael Gelman is a horrible person to work with. He apparently particularly mistreats Kelly, which is why I think this was the last straw for her. Again, these are just rumors, but thought I would pass it along.
I don’t blame her in the least. I’m not normally one to cry “sexism” but I truly believe that if Kelly had been a man, she would have been consulted or told. Matt Lauer or Regis would never have been blind-sighted like that.
“I truly believe that if Kelly had been a man, she would have been consulted or told.”
I believe that, too, based only on my lowly non-celeb experience. I was on a senior management team at an ad agency and I can’t tell you how many times crap like that happened. I’d happen upon or hear about meetings where important decisions were being made and none of the guys on the team would even think to call me in.
vilebody, that’s what I just wrote above. Lainey’s site mentioned it too. That when Regis quit they let her know 20 minutes before they went on air. And once again they did it to her. I mean she’s been headlining for ages, doesn’t she get some heads up? Maybe they wanted the drama. ?? Would they do the same thing if it had been Kelly leaving Regis or Michael?
Gelman and Kelly have been friends for 20+ years – so if he is treating her awful – she is partly to blame for never telling him to be kind.
Cosign
If I were her I think I’d also be annoyed that Live! was used as a recruiting ground for GMA. It would suck putting in time to turn Strahan into a morning show host to know that the network was going to scoop him away to another show when he hit his stride.
Ultimately it was Michael’s decision. Money talks.
I think it’s probably a mixture of feeling betrayed but more importantly that the execs are clearly showing her they place GMA and their ratings and survival over Live. If I were reading those tea leaves I’d be looking for another place to land.
One thing I have learned over the years is that there is no loyalty in the business world. Business is business. And I don’t mean that to sound completely negative, it’s just the nature of the beast. Even if you’ve been with the company for 15+ years, even if you feel like “family” they will still make the moves they need to make, which may be painful and sting at times, but so it goes.
Yep and they should which is why as an employee you should always keep your options open and look out for yourself. It’s not a family it’s a job.
IKR! I also think they factored in Kelly and what her reaction would be AND that the realization that the shows days are potentially numbered. Clearly this move is going to raise a lot of questions that will be uncomfortable to address.
Absolutely. There’s no loyalty or gold watches anymore. I’m sure she is upset! Who knows who comes in next and whether they are trustworthy or backstabbing, etc. And will you have chemistry. Or are you being cancelled or swallowed up within GMA.
I’d be pissed as well. Leaks. It’s a fluff tv show, not CIA secrets.
And yet older generations still bemoan the lack of loyalty in my generation. It’s true, there is no such thing in a job market like this. Business is business and the bottom line is what matters. It’s not that we don’t want to be loyal, but it’s not a one sided proposition here.
The, “their is no loyalty in business” was brought home to me about 25 years ago when I watched Wayne Gretzky on TV, bawling his eyes out when he was traded to Los Angeles. At the time I thought that was a shocking betrayal by the Oilers management to their best and most loyal of players.
“It’s just good business” (Lord Cutler Beckett)
Is Live doing bad? As someone else said, THE VIEW is the show that needs to be cancelled, not Live.
When you co-host a national tv show and don’t show up for work because of something that happened at work – then yes, you have made it public. I can see her being upset, but unless they also told her that they were canceling her show, not showing up for work would seem to defeat the purpose. She’s supposed to be back on Tuesday. If she shows up and is professional, fine. If she doesn’t, then I would say I’m #TeamMichael.
But would you want her on the show knowing she’s on quite an emotional edge, of the network’s own doing? I don’t necessarily blame Michael. He’s just working his way up the ladder. The network handling of this was atrocious, though.
Hell, Kathie Lee Gifford went on the show the day she found out Frank cheated on her, I believe. Not to mention, the day it was announce that her Walmart line of clothes was being sewn by children in third world countries…Now, Kathie Lee is a trooper…and a dick, did I mention she is a dick!
KL made such a big deal about her perfect marriage and children, the public humiliation of his affair (photo evidence of which made a tabloid cover) was a valid reason to stay home.
As the saying goes, the show must go on.
Well actually, you could say that this will be a huge ratings boost for the show as I had totally forgotten about it and it did make me think about watching the next few episodes just to see. So maybe this drama will actually prolong her show by giving a ratings boost? Silver linings and all that.
I can understand not telling Kelly until the contacts were signed but disagree with waiting minutes before the official announcement. She deserved better than that. I do think that Michael wasn’t allowed to say anything.
This is where I am with it. I don’t think MIchael had to tell Kelly that he was looking for a different job, but when the deal was done he should have let her know in advance.
Sorry she’s acting unprofessional, he was told by Disney not to tell anyone, so he didn’t, plus if they are not friends he doesn’t owe her early notice.
I would be pissed if I was her. Fifteen years and they couldn’t give her the respect of a heads up??? Wow they sure don’t value her at all and now she knows it and feels it! And she didn’t go public but instead went through this alone with her family, which is 100% her right!!!
I watch the CBS morning show because the people on the Good morning America are so annoying! Another possible hour with them?? How ridiculous if that happens and cancels her show. I feel bad for her and he does seem like a fake person.
All the personalities (I refuse to call them journalist) on GMA and the Today show are all annoying…The few times that I have put them on, I roll my eyes at the pretense of buddy, buddy friendship….Matt Lauer, ESPECIALLY, should be booted out the door…..CAN’T STAND HIM!
Idk about him, but I don’t like kelly. She’s annoying to me. Her personality comes across as fake to me.
I’d have to be part time fake if I had to be that chipper every morning and engage with other famous twits on daily basis. It’s her job do that, and they all do it well, in my opinion. Maybe itt comes across as fake because it must be some days.
I agree. I don’t blame him as much as the execs who clearly have zero respect for someone who is the captain of that show. And the ratings are better than GMA, so they are fools to have screwed her this way.
It seems as if she’s operating on “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing,” which is really wise. And if what’s described really went down the way it’s being reported, a mental health day or days would definitely be in order. Calling in sick is the appropriate thing to do.
I think she’s being a total brat. You don’t have some “right” to know what your employers are planning until they are ready to tell you. They obviously didn’t trust her to keep it quiet, they knew it would be a blow to her ego and apparently they had good reason to fear that she would behave unprofessionally. On a much smaller scale, obviously, this happened to me once. I shared a job with a coworker and my bosses decided to move me to a different area of the firm. This meant the days my coworker worked would change, and I knew she would not be happy about it. They specifically told me not to tell her until all of the details were worked out and they were ready to make the announcement. Since it affected her job, I knew she would make a huge deal out of it, and I couldn’t trust her not to go running to them and telling them I had done exactly what they told me not to do. I might have confided in a different sort of person, but in this case, I had no choice. Of course she was livid and blamed me for the whole thing. So I am totally team Michael, having been in that position myself.
Agreed. Well said. 🙂
But it’s the network’s fault. They knew she was going on vacation in a few days. They could have easily waited until the day before she left and give her time to get over the emotional stuff before she comes back. That would have been the adult thing to do, if they already figured she would act negatively.
The same goes for your employer. Why were they telling you but not telling your co-worker, whose job it was going to affect also? That’s just pitting co-workers against each other. Not very mature. And then what happened? You guys are all worried and mad about talking about each other behind each other’s backs, while the company gets no blame. Again, basic lack of maturity and respect for your employees.
My firm had good reason not to tell her. Someone else was going to be let go, and she was out on vacation. They didn’t want her firing to be known before they could tell her. These things get out in a company very, very easily. They had to tell me so I could prepare myself to work in a different area. I suppose they could have waited until the day I started to tell me, but I was needed on a big project and they wanted me to have some background. This is business. It’s not family, it’s not therapy, it’s not friendship. They did what they decided was best for the business, not for me or my coworker. If I didn’t like it, I could leave, and I don’t blame them for it one bit. Was it sensitive? No. That’s the real world.
GNAT, with you completely. Been there too. And have also been on the “bad corporation” side where, for a variety of reasons, we wouldn’t tell anyone but the person involved in the move about what would come down. Michael was right to keep quiet, he was under a legal obligation to do so.
She is being a brat. Her knowing a day in advance would have changed, what exactly? Nothing. The company does not owe you anything more than the rest of your co-workers or bosses. They will tell you the news once the deal is signed. She would have just thrown a hissy fit and taken her sick day whenever they informed her – and given her reaction, I totally get why they kept it quiet. She is not handling this in a professional manner.
It’s also humans you’re dealing with, not robots. I’m well aware of corporate America. They s u c k. And yes, it’s just business. But then why were they willing to make concessions for the one who was on vacation, and not the one who was going to have to change her whole schedule?
And do you see who you’re angry with? The emotional human, not the corporate box that doesn’t give 2 sh it$ about you?
I guess I just don’t expect Kelly to not have an emotional response to something that affects her life so much. I don’t expect her to be a good little girl and smile and look pretty. People take personal days for idiotic reasons all the time. I think I’ll give her a pass on this one.
@sloany from the way the story sounds the person on vacation was being let go so they weren’t being nice and making conssessions they were covering their butts from a legal perspective! You can’t have an employees termination get leaked they can sue.
Businesses care about the bottom line and let’s be real that’s what they should care about, if they can do some charity and good work to help get to a positive bottom line great but it’s their job to care about profits- doing so keeps people employed.
@Sloaney
I’m not mad at human emotion. I just don’t expect a corporate entity to HAVE human emotions. It’s their job to make the firm profitable, to service the clients well, and to assist the attorneys in doing both things in the best way they know how. It is NOT their job to make sure little GoodNames doesn’t get her feelings hurt or her nose out of joint. I have loved my job and given it my whole heart, and had it handed back to me in shreds on a platter. Because I needed to grow up. Jobs don’t love you back. You’re expendable. If the powers that be have to chose between hurting your feelings and their bottom line, guess who they’re going to choose? Is this a great thing? No. But if you want to survive in a corporate environment, you better face it, because that’s the way it is. If you can’t take it, don’t work in that environment. That’s a perfectly valid choice.
I agree a bit with Sloane. This is just another way businesses pit co-workers against each other. It’s not what’s best for the company, it’s what best for the ones running the company. How can they give you the opportunity to prepare for that change but not grant that same opportunity to your co-worker; it affected her as well. It’s almost as if they are saying they value you more than they do the other employee. And maybe they did. Why was it ok for you to know that an employee was about to be fired but it wasn’t ok for your co-worker to know. Your company could have just said we need your assistance on this project without telling you what was really going on. They didn’t have to tell you why they needed your help. Like you said it’s their company and they can run it the way they want. If you were that co-worker are you saying that you would have chalked it up to it’s just business or would you have been feeling some kind of way?
I don’t blame Kelly and she has a right to be upset. I think she made the right decision to take a sick day behind this mess. I can’t believe some people are so insensitive to blame Kelly and say she’s being unprofessional. I think the Network was just being a coward in not telling her.
Also we don’t know if Kelly and Michael are friends are not. Just because there are rumors that say they don’t like each other doesn’t make it true. It has been said that Kelly was the main one pushing for Michael to be a permanent fixture on the show when they were searching for her next co-host. There were also rumors that they were having an affair. She has the right to feel the way she feels, especially if she was close to him. Also it’s hard to compare the friendship/co-worker relationship to an office job and a co-hosting gig. Most of the time people in the corporate world are not all lovey dovey and rubbing up on each other the way Michael and Kelly do. Their work relationship is a bit different.
You’re conflating hurt feelings with basic decorum. I’m fully aware that businesses are all about the bottom line. No doubt. I have worked in many a corporation. I’m not saying they should never hurt your feelings. I’m saying they should have a basic human (because businesses are run by humans, not robots) decency to give you information if they have it to give, and not cherry pick who gets to be in the know and who doesn’t.
Like v4real said– why did you need to know about the other person being fired? Was that integral to your project? I’m just saying that when there’s a lot of shuffling, there tends to be this hierarchy of people in the know, and people who are hung out to dry. And a lot of times it doesn’t have anything to do with being in a need to know position. It’s just who the bosses want to gossip with or who is in their inner circle and who isn’t. And that doesn’t seem very “corporate” or without feeling, does it?
It also makes me scratch my head that people think “corporations” should be fair to everyone and give everyone a living wage and health benefits and time off for maternity and parenting and this, that and the other, but when it’s something like this…well, they’re just protecting their bottom line! It’s a corporation, not a human. they don’t have feelings. And then I’m sure you would argue that having well paid and cared for employees are essential to their bottom line….well, so is treating them with respect and not like little gossipy plebs that must be under your thumb.
@V and SloaneY
It’s a long story, but I think they made the right decision to tell me and not to tell her. I had worked for them for 15 years and they knew I was discrete and trustworthy. They didn’t tell me that the other employee was going to be fired, just that she was leaving, but I learned through the grapevine afterwards that she had been fired. My coworker had been there under two years, and so far she had been a trouble-making nightmare, a gossip, the source of a lot of false rumors and screw ups. They didn’t trust her with the truth and I think they were right not to. They eventually fired her, too, with good reason, as she was charging the firm for hours she didn’t work and the clients for work she didn’t do. I’m sorry I left out details for brevity and made the story confusing.
Anyway, my point is not that you don’t deserve to be treated with respect by a company, or that the bottom line is more important than human beings. Or that you don’t have any right to be hurt if you are treated badly. All I’m trying to say is that I learned from some very painful experiences that when you work for a company, you have to protect yourself and your feelings by accepting the fact that no matter how much they like and respect you, they will do what is best for the company. Sometimes that coincides with what is right for the employees or individual employees, but sometimes it doesn’t. You have to except that and be emotionally prepared for that, or you will be hurt. Maybe they should have told Kelly that he was leaving, but maybe they had good reason not to. As I said in the follow up post, I don’t even think that’s what is bothering her. I think she knows this is a sign that she isn’t valued very highly anymore and her show is about to be cancelled. She can handle it any way she wants or needs to. But I would have more pride, I hope, and just try to maintain my dignity while quietly looking for another job.
Well said SloaneY….It amazes me that some people are failing to see the real issue at hand and blaming Kelly for being unprofessional! I also refuse to give Michael a complete pass in all this, if he is that weak and intimidated by the powers that be then he has the wrong people around him, needs to find better management/agent. If all the excuses that ABC are throwing out there are true, that absolute secrecy and discretion was warranted since Michael was the golden boy that will be the savior of GMA and the ABC morning line up, then….If….Michael truly cared about Kelly, Gelman and the Live show he would have asked (or had his agent ask) to be allowed to sit down with them personally, one on one, and break the news to them. I never had respect for the Disney/ABC power players to start with (the problem with GMA is not the people it is the 2 hour Disney/ABC infomercial the show has become), I did respect Michael and given the way he allowed (signed off on) this to go down and his insincere after thought at the end of yesterdays show showed me the kind of (non)man he is.
x1000. Couldn’t agree more.
I agree completely.
He should have told her before he told the network. I find it hard to believe he couldn’t say “please don’t say anything yet, but I’m thinking about leaving”. Instead it sounds like he got himself all set up for the future, and didn’t have the courtesy to tell her himself. I don’t blame her for being annoyed, they’ve been on air partners for several years and he owed her that much.
They told him not to. They are his boss. Period. It wasn’t up to him.
The network told him not to say anything, not the other way around. So it is on the network, not Michael that this all happened.
I agree the network handled this very badly. Maybe I am confusing what happened. Did he decide to leave and pursue other things, or did the network say to him hey we’re going to move you up but you can’t say anything? If it’s the latter, then I can understand his position, but if it’s the former then he absolutely should’ve given her a heads up.
Either way, I think she has the right to be pissed.
He has been working for GMA for two years,they probably approached him about working full time and told him to keep it on the DL.
Lucy2, I respectfully disagree. I don’t need to tell my coworker that I am looking for another job. I need to show up, be professional, deliver the report/project whatever. If I am in negotiations for a promotion, a move, a transfer – that is my business and mine alone. If I end up leaving, the company is responsible for how they decide to handle the change, whether they replace me, shut down the team, re-assign everyone or just some people, etc. That is not my job, and by talking about my possible move all I do is create a mess, not to mention getting in legal hot water. My duty is to my employer. Maybe it sounds harsh, but these are the realities of the workplace.
But your job isn’t all about going on national tv and trying to convince the whole world that you’re friends with your coworker either (right? unless you’re a national celebrity posting here under a fake name…) Did the successful performance of your job require you to appear as if the two of you had a fun and upbeat friendship while someone else filmed your witty repartee and half a nation judged your every move?
It’s less like working at the bank and more like working at the circus. Imagine if you were a trapeze artist for like, Cirque du Soleil and you show up for work and you’re told that your partner is leaving and they’re taking the safety nets away and by the way you’re being fired at the end of the season, but you’re still expected to go out there and perform tomorrow night. Go out there and do the whole routine by yourself, for employers who don’t want you there anymore.
The camera operators and makeup artists are “co workers”, Strahan was her on air *partner*. A partnership requires teamwork, and you can’t work as a team if one of you is not being honest or supportive.
Sheila –All of this!!!
In an ordinary work environment, I’d agree – but their situation isn’t ordinary. They’re supposed to be a duo, and the show bears both of their names.
At the very least, I think she deserved to be told, by him or the network, before the rest of the crew and the media.
I think the same. It’s not about emotions, it’s about business.
especially if she was vocal in picking him as her cohost during the very long search for a cohost. I don’t know her role, but I could see her resenting the company for surprising her with it.
The thought that my bosses actively tried to maneuver my workplace cohost behind my back for an extended period of time would cheese me. Especially if my name was in the title of the show.
SloaneY and Sheila, thank you for articulating this. It’s an important discussion to have. Most of us (myself included) don’t think of the nuances because we’ve been trained or manipulated into literally not thinking beyond the standard line which is as stated – corps are not people, no feelings, yada yada yada.
I was a corporate accountant. I’m too familiar with the schtick. But i’m also a human being with feelings and never fit with my professional colleagues so I get this, all the nuances. I’ve never heard or read anyone articulate it as well as you both have. I feel relief. I think humanity is overdue for growing beyond the cruel coldness which dominates corp culture. It will only NOT change as long as majority of humanity allows it to NOT change and keeps parroting their schtick.
Being decent, respectful and fair costs nothing. Really. It actually brings in more revenue in the end. Sigh…. what a mess this is.
@Shelia You’re comment is everything. 🙂
Here, here.
The network media is full of leaks to TMZ, revival networks, Wall Street etc. Deals fall apart all the time and stocks drop. Who is to say Kelly would not have been upset enough to leak this to a “friend” who calls up People magazine or an anonymous tipster to TMZ if Michael opened his mouth when told not to by his bosses. Especially if they didn’t get along. He will have the same bosses and he would lose their trust. I’m sorry but when it comes to multi-million dollar deals you do as you are told until it’s over.
I bet a billion dollars that Kelly would too have kept her mouth shut. Also I have little sympathy for the once hotter, younger blonde woman who took the opportunity to take a job from a woman who was viewed as too old for her already older co-host. Bet she didn’t call up Kathy Lee to sympathize with her. I have never liked her or Regis since then and I don’t even like Kathy Lee!
I think this is about as unprofessional as you can get by the network on how they treated Kelly and the show. Courting the co-host behind her back is one thing for GMA, but not giving her the respect she deserves by telling her and Gelman in a much more timely manner than practically simultaneously as the world is finding out is disgusting, and then expecting her to go on the show as if all is fine. And Michael should have demanded that she be told sooner than that and talked with her. It’s the least she deserved as his co-host.
Also, he said nothing at the beginning of the show about her when talking about leaving. Then I guess someone told him during the show that he needed to thank Kelly, and all of a sudden at the end of the show he says he also wants to thank Kelly and starts gushing. Fake.
She has every right to show her displeasure to the network and Michael by taking a few days off prior to her vacation, since the network treated her so shabbily and disrespectfully and has good reason to distrust them, and she brings in a lot of money for the network with Live. So why should she make this transition announcement easy for the network this week since they gave a crap about her and the show in how she was told by Michael as her long-time co-host and by the network. She has been committed to this network and this show for 15 years and isn’t just some “employee.”
I guess the little woman should be quiet and fall in line.
Exactly. Be a good little girl and smile for the cameras!
This. I can’t help but feel there is sexism at play here. It’s seems like a man’s world over at ABC. I’d be pissed in general if I were employed by them.
Agree..she’s probably put in more time for abc than anyone on the morning show..and it clearly wasn’t planned for the end of the summer–I was flipping thru earlier and they were all welcoming him as permanent member today..honestly, I don’t watch either program and was unaware of the drama , but this seems like a cheap shot to her and the show’s crew. Keep it secret?..like it was some huge earth-shattering story..yeah, right…if he has so much clout there, he could’ve negotiated who was told when, and not just over $.
I completely agree Jayna!!! And I don’t believe he was told not to tell her. That’s an easy excuse to protect him from criticism! She gets screwed and he gets promoted. Disgusting!
She was at abc more the. 15 years she was on AMC for like 8-10 years before Live right.
Thank you ladies was thinking the same. I kinda like Kelly anyway. I actually detest GMA. Just me?
No I hate GMA too. I watch CBS morning with Gayle King and Charlie Rose. Love them. Charlie is a delight and an honored journalist. I do not watch NBC, because I won’t give Matt Lauer the time of day. What he did to Ann Curry was inexcusable.
She’s probably pissed because she’s been there longer and didn’t get the promotion, Michael did. Probably because people like Michael more then annoying skinny as heck kelly. I hope they cancel that embarrassment of a show and add another hour to GMA.
What does her being “skinny as heck” have to do with anything…..geez….
Sorry but when I see someone anorexic with a bobble head, I have an issue with that. You got problems and need therapy, stat.
But it’s not a promotion for Kelly if she were to move to GMA. She headlines Live and makes $$$$. To go to GMA would be a step down.
For Strahan, it’s big – they pretty much threw money at him and bumped his salary into the 8 figures.
Meh she left for vacation one day early afterafter being blindsided. Not 100% professional. But who hasn’t used a sick day when they’re not sick every once in a blue moon?
But it’s one day. She has to work with him until he leaves in September. Plus, she’s on live tv, maybe she wanted to cool down before sitting next to him for an hour on live TV- she needs to stay peppy for her audience, back-handed comments probably aren’t wanted on the show.
My question is, who’s leaving GMA if Michael is coming in full time. Will this be another scandal?
I am 100 percent behind Kelly’s decision to take a breather after that stunning news and the smarmy way it was handled by the network. If she knew she couldn’t fake smile through this for an hour and needed to count to 10 before she got into a better head space, so be it. If she showed, everybody would have analyzed her body language to detect her anger. And being that angry, could she have hidden it? I saw her on All My Children: she is no great actress. I’m a Kelly fan, but I can admit that. The unplanned “sick” day comes off as bratty to some people I’m sure, and that’s certainly possible, but maybe she just knows herself and what she needs to cool down and strategize her next move. Because, yeah, she needs a next move. She was essentially fired. This move was ABC saying: Buh bye Live.
How do we know that ABC didn’t tell her about MS and then say, “oh, and by the way. Live is ending at the end of the season”….maybe, it’s not all about Michael’s departure….
All this talk of being ‘professional’ You know what? She’s human. She’s not a robot. You work somewhere for 15 years and are blindsided on national tv finding out the same time as everyone else? Would you rather her sit on tv and cry? Or pretend everything is fine? She’s allowed to be hurt, she’s allowed to have feelings. Taking a day or two to recover emotionally before your every facial tic is dissected by millions of people isn’t being a brat-it’s taking care of yourself. If any of us lost a job after nearly 2 decades-Wouldn’t we all take at least a day or two to recover?
She was blindsided by her bosses at Disney/ABC. And the scuttlebutt is that this was all orchestrated by one exec who has his eyes on being the new Disney CEO. Who basically told none of the other producers-even the folks at GMA didn’t know. It’s also pretty clear they are going to cancel the show so she’s dealing with a double whammy.
It’s just gross how this whole thing was handled from start to finish.
I agree. I also don’t understand the hate for Kelly. Her cohost, who only did a few years on the show, is basically getting a promotion and leaving without the courtesy of a heads up. The show may get cancelled. She is allowed to feel betrayed. This may have been a career decision for Michael, but it probably feels personal to Kelly.
I don’t think that disagreeing with her is the same as hating her. I actually like her. I remember her from All My Children, which I’m embarrassed to say I watched for thirty years. And I dont think anyone has to justify the way a situation makes them feel. But I do think she could have handled it differently, maybe taken the day off, then wished him well or something less like a temper tantrum.
And look who everyone is talking about being unprofessional? Kelley, and to a lesser extent, Michael. Not the network. Pit the co-hosts against each other, and Disney comes out looking rosy while being the most unprofessional of the bunch.
No one is talking about the network is because no one expects much from the network. It’s what you expect big business to do.
I agree with Sloaney. Quite a few people on this thread are talking about being “professional”. And I would say they have a point IF the big bosses themselves were professional to begin with. They weren’t.
“Professional” “The show must go on”-there is a place for these words, but it’s not here. These words are not meant to be catch-all phrases that excuse bad or abusive behaviour from your boss or higher-ups or even your coworkers.
When you are putting up with a boss’s/coworker’s bad behaviour, the words that would describe you best would be tenacious, enduring, or preyed-upon. And you may have to accept the situation because you need the money, but don’t give me any bs about it being professional when it is actually only a coping mechanism that unfortunately most of us need to use.
“Professional” implies you work with other pros, not back stabbing, undermining a-holes.
This is what I don’t understand, why was it handled so badly and why is Kelly getting so much hate for dong nothing wrong!!! I’m behind Kelly too on this one! Why didn’t they just tell them beforehand? It makes zero sense and it could have been so much easier for all involved to do such a respectful thing as tell them before it was announced. And I’m sorry but you tell me Micheal had no say in how this was handled? Give me a break! He worked every day with these people for four years, give them at least a warning of what was going down. He wasn’t going to lose the job at GMA for telling them, not when they wanted him that bad.
Not showing up for work is doing something wrong,IMO.
I don’t believe she was scheduled to be off Wednesday.I have been watching the show for years and I can’t recall her ever starting a vacation on a Wednesday.Her kids already had spring break and she and Mark went on vacation three weeks ago.So I find it odd they happened to go on vacation the day after she was told he would be leaving.
Personally I think she is jealous of Michael.He is moving on up.
Because this is standard corporate game playing using people as tools to that end. Normal, flippant, corporate strategy.
I’ve been wondering if NBC didn’t set this lower bar in the network culture via the Curry/Lauer mess. The way they treated and handled that was horrible, to Curry more than anyone else and I’m not a flag waving fan of her. But that was outright cruel.
Since then, ABC has fallen it seems to the same low standard. This is how an industry devolves to it’s lowest denominator when it has nowhere else to go that’s UP.
Kelly is refusing to play and feed into their game. She’s simply putting herself first because this for sure is a mental health hit and she’s not letting them damage her health with more stress. That could successfully be argued by her at any level. So they should hush and get a grip on themselves with all the news and gossip articles.
Meanwhile, Strahan is not happy with Kelly because again, by putting herself first – something he was only too happy to do for his own circumstances and well being – she’s showing how his choices affected her and it’s negative, hurtful to him. But he too needs to wear this, man up, and shut up.
She’s allowed a day or two to process. She’s on vacation in a few days anyway. Nothing big here except everyone noticing – man, Kelly Ripa has balls to say NO and do it with quiet grace. THAT is why everyone is having a fit. She’s not being Curry. She’s being stealth. Corp games. Have to play to stay.
She’s such an annoying little fidget. Very professional Kelly. The show passed its shelf life a long time ago. I’m hearing that GMA may expand to three hours like the Today Show and something tells me Kelly heard the same thing. Congrats to Michael, who I like, he got his post sports exposure and it’s time to move on to bigger pastures. Kelly can go hang out with Andy Cohen or Anderson Cooper, something of that nature…
What a God awful week or two for women in TV in general. They kill off Nicole B on Sleepy Hollow, the Castle mess and now this. And other stories are out there that Laura Spencer feels like she’s been done wrong by GMA by this move. And as for Kelly being an employee- she is the face of the program, and has been for over ten years. And treating long-term employees with consideration and respect is good management, period. Without question they should have given her a heads up- after all, she’s the one (assuming show isn’t cancelled) who will be doing the on-air auditions for the new co-host.
I’m still getting over the death of Abby Mills and how she will be there in the show in one form or another but just not her original form. What the eff is that about? It was awful, they had good chemistry and the show lasted as long as it did because of it. I hate how they worded it too, as though they can swap out every actor on that show when ever they want to. They need to find another way to boost viewership.
My first reaction in situations Iike this is to wonder if it would have played out differently if she was a man.
I can’t stand GMA. I also watch CBS because Charlie Rose is my spirit animal.
Right??!! These morning shows are embarrassing to watch and I recently switched to CBS too. It’s the only one I can stomach.
You and me both. Charlie Rose is my secret crush. I want him and Gayle to hook up. Their flirting is adorable. Charlie has the reputation of being a stand-up guy, I can’t imagine him doing this to a co-worker. If he turned out to be a jerk in RL, I’d be crushed.
Apparently she was blindsided by Regis too. If something happens over and over again, it’s you. I wonder if there’s a reason for these two secretive exits..Maybe it’s her?
She was blindsided by her bosses.
That’s a common, unfair analogy people use too often. She had no say in this. The “it’s you” if something happens over and over….do you say that to people who experience multiple recurrent cancer threats?
Boo- that is an insane comparison. You know thats not what I meant.
Regis retired. He was pretty old. Eventually she had to know he would one day retire. This isn’t the same. Plus Regis stayed on for a couple of months after his announcement.
I can understand Kelly being upset and taking a sick day. But you can bet people will be tuned in when she returns to work and how she reacts to Michael. With rumours flying that the show may also be on the chopping block, Kelly will have to give the Oscar award winning performance of her life to not show how upset and angry she is.
Great synopsis here but honestly I have a hard time believing this. I think they’re trying to drum up drama for the whole changeover. I don’t think he would ever ever leave without making sure he remained in Kelly’s good graces and the good graces of everyone involved in running that show….
I wish they’d cancel The View and move Live in their time spot. That would makes sense to me.
It’s showbiz, folks. Don’t think for one minute if Kelly had to opportunity to get Anderson Cooper as her permanent cohost at any given moment, Strahan would have been out. Anderson Cooper is the only cohost Ripa doesn’t constantly interrupt.
I’ve watched this show for years and Strahan was a breath of fresh air on Live. I can totally see GMA grabbing him to bump their program. Disney showed its colors by basically ghosting Ripa on this one. It’s all about The Big Mouse Company.
I do believe Michael was told not to tell Kelly. I’m currently working in a situation where the organization has implemented a new software which will be taking over a large part of my workload. One of my coworkers went on mat leave and her replacement is on contract, for the next year and my other coworker is going on mat leave in September. My boss (who I really like and respect) hasn’t said a word about how my job will change which says everything to me. I KNOW, he’s been told not to tell me, and I KNOW that I’ll be out of a job in about 8-12 months (and I’m aware that it may be sooner). I also know, that I’m not going to tell my boss about my current search for another job.
The organization is changing and I’m well aware that they can be sued for saying something that doesn’t turn out so they say nothing. The organization will always work in their own best interest and I’ve never seen someone get a promotion that affected another’s position where they weren’t asked not to reveal information before a certain point. Now, it would’ve cost Disney nothing if they had informed her at an opportune time so she wasn’t blindsided, but Disney is not known for being respectful and empathetic when it comes to it’s employees. They are known for messy power plays and this is just another in a line of many.
Ok while I think it’s bad not to show up to work- let’s be real who hasn’t gotten pissed and taken a sick day?
That being said this hasn’t been a positive week for Entertainment and especially ABC’s treatment of women. I mean let’s be real people watch for Kelly she has kept the ratings up, and they pull this. They fire that lady from Castle because of rumors that Nathan didn’t like her. They actually fired both women on that show. Of course there have always been long standing rumors that ABC daytime was a sexist boys club – didn’t know it went to primetime too. Not a great showing for ABC.
kelly should have shown up though; she could have been like I know everyone I’m shocked too.
Don’t get me started on ABC Daytime. Before Brian Frons canceled most of ABCs soaps it had been well known in the industry that they paid the male actors more than their female counterparts (except for Susan Lucci). Complain and you’d be out unless you had a bunch of Emmys to your name and could negotiate during contract renewals.
To be honest, the male co-stars of Castle have not been asked to renegotiate their contracts either so you gotta wonder. At this point, I think Castle should be cancelled.
Oh yeah the head of ABC entertainment is now a woman, not Paul Lee. I think he was let go mid-season. Very surprised she sanctioned what happened at Castle but then again, it is a business.
Kelly makes that show, she is charming and funny. Micheal to me was just a sidekick, he could be replaced by anyone. I hope the crappy gma doesn’t end up being longer and they keep Kelly on air.
In the words of Big O… No one should ever be blindsided. Oprah’s right. Huge disrespect and especially to Kelly and Gelman. Now, it all looks sloppy and unprofessional on everyones side.
Well blame her bosses who blindsided her.
Regis Philbin made the show and Kelly treated him with such disrespect and I also think she had a hand in Regis being forced to leave. Ungrateful woman. He is the reason she is making millions and if both Regis and Michael didn’t tell her they were planning on leaving it speaks volumes as to what kind of person she might be. It’s her not them. She seems to be a fake and unreliable person and one that could sabotage the whole thing if she knew ahead of time. They owed her nothing. It’s business. Not showing up for work is very unprofessional and, yes, by doing so she has made this public, add in all the leaks coming from her and her people and she is showing exactly why they didn’t trust her. Cancel the show. She has given the show a black eye with her behavior.
I think them not giving her the heads up speaks volumes to the kind of men they might be. Let’s be real the women saved that show for Regis.
Why is everyone dumping on Regis? The man chose to retire. At his age he is free to do so. So he didn’t give her a heads up? What’s the big deal? My coworkers didn’t give me the heads up when they retire. Plus Regis stayed on for a few more months after the announcement.
Leave Regis out of this.
Sorry @TwoCents, but Kelly Ripa doesn’t have the reputation being unprofessional. Her co-workers on All My Children always gave her praise, especially David Canary, multiple Emmy winner, who played her father on the show and was a known hard-a*s to young actors who weren’t pulling their weight. Maybe she’s changed since she’s been on Live! but I doubt it.
This is ABC being raging jerks again.
To be honest, I never really watch those morning shows. However, when Regis was still on the show, after Kelly came on, I watched a few of the episodes. She was always so rude to him, not letting him get a word in edgewise. One episode I remember, Mario Lopez was the guest and Kelly was just fawning all over him. Regis kept trying to talk, and Kelly would interrupt him every single time. All I could thing when watching was “B!tch, he made this show, sit the fu@k down.” Ever since then, I absolutely cannot stand this woman. So full of herself.
It would behoove the Live folks to remember the Today Show ‘ Ann Curry disaster. This isn’t just business, they’re asking people to let their morning hosts into their home and forge a connection with them. How they handle these things absolutely matters to viewers.
that pic of her at work with wine is everything to me. I want that job.
And I think she has a right to excuse herself for a few extra days. It looked like it was exhausting finding a replacement that had on air chemistry with her in the first place, so having to go through that gain so soon would be maddening. Your on air cohost is a significant partner, so no shade from me. And Michael could have given her hints, he chose not to for his own good.
How can it be that *I* (who never watches Live other than when I’m at a dentist appointment) saw the writing on the wall but Kelly did not? As soon as he started doing spots on GMA every week (which I do watch while I’m getting ready for work), I knew he would be full time soon. I don’t blame her for being pissed, but she shouldn’t have been so naive either.
Maybe you could see it because you weren’t in the middle of it? I just know from experiences of my own that there have been times when I didn’t see the writing on the wall either, because I didn’t want to or was too invested in the outcome. I kept thinking, yeah, this is bad but I can turn it around…as the ship slowly sank and only my lips were sticking out of the water – I can fix this…
@Bravocueen that’s the only time I’ve every watched the show also lol
I never watch them either normally but have seen Strahan with her a few times. He’s very engaging. I guess the network thinks so too.
She probably thought it might happen, but assumed she’d have warning if it did.
How do we know what is true and what is not? Kelly hasn’t said a thing yet. She simply didn’t show up for work. The rest is all speculation or ABC “leaking” gossip. Kelly needs to speak soon though. Also, this whole “drama” must be really giving them a ratings boost right about now. Either way, IF Kelly is not showing up to work because of this “drama” I think that is very immature of her.
I don’t watch these shows regularly but the few times I have caught them (usually on vacation in a hotel room), live was surprisingly good and entertaining. Ripa in particular was actually quite funny and qiuck. This was when Regis was still on though. Haven’t seen it with Strahan.
GPA, on the other hand, was dull and outdated. I sort of enjoyed it’s nostalgic vibe, reminded me of growing up. But otherwise, no.
And The View? Omg. It’s all been said before here on CBS threads.
Though this incident may be business as usual, it still stings when you are kept out of the loop, when you spend a good chunk of your life with these people.
I can’t believe The View is still on the air. It’s HORRIBLE. I have not watched it in years. It was good when it first came out but now it’s like seriously just end it already. I watch “The Social” (it’s Canadian) and 10000 times better than The View.
I’m not understanding all this hate for Kelly Ripa. I’ve never heard of any unreasonable diva behavior from her or disrespect toward her coworkers…or anyone for that matter. I can understand Michael not telling her, if it’s true that he was ordered not to but it’s a kick in the face to Kelly Ripa for the producers to not to give her a heads up.
In fairness to her (and she hasn’t said one word yet,) she had a planned vacation in the Bahamas for this weekend (20th anniversary,) starting during the week. I think they planned to back stab her while she was gone and it came out a little earlier. What they did was very unprofessional. No way they would have pulled this crap if she were a man.
What is the drama here?
She didn’t like him. Network executives decided to fire him (and negociated another contract) and she is mad she was not told right away? She is not his boss! She is his co-worker. Senior co-worker, but still not his boss. I don’t understand this drama… All of this, makes me think she is the difficult one.
I agree
This will not be popular, but I have never liked her and have always felt like she thought more highly of herself than anyone else. Michael I have loved since football and he is likeable.
Her not returning and playing this game justifies why they decided to tell her at the last minute. You can say professional curtesy all you want to, but they work with her and have for 15 years. Maybe they had a good idea on how she was going to handle it. And she delivered.
It’s pretty stupid too as her conduct makes it hard for me to side with her. Had she been more professional and took it courteously, it would have been better. After all, it is a step up to her costar, to leave for a higher rated show. Couldn’t she have shown some class and congratulated him instead? If it is true that they didn’t like each other, she shouldn’t have expected him to last there forever.
This didn’t have to be a big story, but her unprofessional conduct has made it one and it is short sighted to have behaved the way she is behaving. She had better be careful or they will terminate her contract due to her bad behavior, which would be justified.
I agree
And all of this happens to go down right before sweeps….
I remember when Kelly first started on Regis and Kelly, she talked about how her and Mark went looking for bedding at bed, bath and beyond the night before. Then, last year I saw pictures of the townhouse they were selling so they could move to the upper east side. The townhouse was beautiful! I can’t imagine what her new place look’s like. I think she probably likes nice thing’s, but I don’t think she’s a mean girl.
I like Kelly, she never fails to make me laugh. She was my girl back when she was Hailey on AMC. That said, this is not a good look for her. You go to work, put a smile on your face and be pissed at home. No one should know anything about this at work. She should have told no one but her husband and or kids. We shouldn’t know these details. And if anything she should put a tweet or post wishing Michael the best of luck in his next endeavor. That’s what you do otherwise you don’t look good. It might be fake but that’s the professional way.
So she’s just throwing a big temper tantrum? Nice.
If after all the years she’s been there, she’s not trusted to keep a secret, that says something. If after all the years she’s been there, she’s treated like crap and unfairly so, then she has a right to be upset BUT I would have prepared myself to move on ages ago ANd I would have behaved professionally regardless, like showing up no matter what. I’m sure there’s strategy behind not telling her, including negotiation strategy, but I think not showing up isn’t doing herself any favours either…it’s something that can always be used against her, including with another employer. She does no favours essentially creating a negative situation out of something that should be positive. Not matter how popular she may be and how it’s “her” show, she’s still ultimately an employee. If I were her and this is just another example of how they treat her like crap,I would have moved on long ago. Although, I think it’s a little of A AND B: in her case, her actions have made this all about her, when it should have been about MS, and she’s known for crazy overspending. These are not necessarily good indicators. Her story of success and victory could have come later, after a period of quietly engaging in better career tactics. Imagine the surprise and the kinds of stories that would have come out later … now, a different sort of story will come out/be spun, and I’m not sure it’ll be as positive as it could have been. So tactically, not showing up was a bad move.
Who even watches Gma? Lmao ppl who cant find their remotes and waiting rooms in medical offices! Keep kelly replace michael…he isnt the reason why anyone tunes in anyways..ABC doesnt seem to be run very well and another network would swoop in to grab Kelly
I have very mixed feelings about this for the same reasons Lainey discussed. Her choices were, what – get blindsided and still go on and eat sh*t with a smile on her face despite being left out of a major decision that affected her? Or say f*ck it and let them have a taste of their own medicine? I don’t really feel like she could win either way. Childish, maybe, but she’s put more than a decade of her life into this show, and now that it’s the *second* time they’ve dumped on her like this…well, maybe everyone is at fault here in their own way, yeah?
I don’t have much of an opinion on this story, but I remember hearing a year or so ago that Kelly and Jessica Seinfeld, former besties whose families vacationed together, had some kind of falling out and don’t even speak anymore. My catty gossipy side is dying to know why. 🙂
What ever happened to manners, decency, respect and consideration? You know, do unto others. People (men mainly) in business love to tell you “business isn’t personal.” That is a lie. It’s all very very personal. “Business” is just an excuse for extremely unaware, ego-driven greedy men and women to behave badly and against any sort of value system they were raised with or that society as a whole values. In the end people like Strahan and the ABC suits always get theirs despite how smart they think they are.