According to ABC News president James Goldston, “Live!” will start looking for a new co-host “when the new season begins in the fall”.
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ESPN’s Jon “Stugotz” Weiner is weighing in on the reported drama surrounding Kelly Ripa after her “Live!” co-host, Michael Strahan, announced his departure on Tuesday.
“It all happened very quickly”, the source said by way of explanation, although another is reportedly saying that Ripa is “furious” at the way Strahan has handled his exit from the show. Instead, TMZ reports she found out about the move at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, just as the announcement was being shared to the media.
Ripa’s return to the show isn’t quite clear.
On Wednesday, the GMA crew gave a shout-out to Strahan, welcoming him to the team. “Good morning, everybody. Kelly is off today”, Strahan said without elaborating further. “Kelly, I thank you and I love you and everyone else here at ‘Live'”.
Sounds like the feeling is not at all mutual. “Good Morning America” is ABC’s network morning show. Strahan awkwardly addressed Ripa’s absence, introducing Ana Gasteyer as his cohost for the day, but made no mention of why Ripa took the day off. “No quote from her anywhere wishing him well”, the source added to People. Ripa and the show’s long-time producer, Michael Gelman, were only told of Strahan’s plan to leave moments before the news went public. “She has been an unbelievable influence on me, and this has truly changed my life to be here with her”, said Strahan, who has been appearing on GMA twice a week since 2014.
“I’m always available to guest co-host if I get a call”, he told the crowd.
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“I’m always here”, he said Wednesday on “Live!”. The show won a daytime Emmy previous year for best talk show.
