Did you guys tune into Live! With Kelly & Michael yesterday? Well, Kelly started off the show with a couple of jokes to sort of let everyone know that she *air quotes* “wasn’t mad” and that the show would go on as expected. She began by telling the audience that she just needed a few days to gather herself amidst Michael Strahan’s totally unexpected announcement that he was departing from the show. Ripa has been with ABC for 26 years and said that she “earned the right” to chuck them deuces for a bit!
After the audience’s applause calmed down, Ripa did what any person in show business would do if they were blindsided as she was– she confronted Michael (and ABC) on camera and hinted to them that they needed to treat her with some #respeck! “Our parent company has assured me that ‘Live’ is a priority,” she said. Ripa said that the drama surrounding Michael’s “much greater conversation” across the country “about communication and consideration and, most importantly, respect in the workplace.”
As classy a lady as Kelly is, she still wished Michael well and insisted that she is, indeed, happy for his new life venture. The only thing is, he’s now leaving way sooner than expected. “Michael’s last day on ‘Live’ will be on Friday, May 13,” an ABC spokesman said, “which not only gives the show the chance to have a nice send-off for him during the May book, but to also immediately begin the on-air search for a new co-host.” They also say that this will allow for Michael to start getting his feet wet over at GMA this summer before he begins full-time in September.
Now, after Kelly’s monologue of sorts, you could still see that Kelly and Michael’s body language was super awkward and uncomfortable to watch! Watch how the rest of the show went below:
