There’s still so much drama and press leaks surrounding Kelly Ripa’s abrupt departure from Live after learning that her co-host, Michael Strahan, would be leaving to join Good Morning America in September. Given the sheer number of stories about this, I get the impression that Kelly has the press on speed dial and is giving them quotes as she tries to figure out how she’s going to handle things. For instance Friday right before 1:00 EST, People published a story that Kelly would return to Live but that she didn’t think she could deal with continuing to host with Michael. I guess that’s fair enough, Michael didn’t tell her that he was leaving until right before he made the announcement and she felt hurt by that. I think she should be upset at the network executives, but I get it. A source told People “I don’t believe that co-hosting together is a viable option anymore.”
Then, at about 11pm Friday night, People published another story claiming that Kelly had emailed the entire staff of Live and promised she would come back this Tuesday. You may remember that Kelly was scheduled to be on vacation on Friday and Monday but that she took sick days on Wednesday and Thursday after being “blindsided” by Michael’s announcement. Well now she’s fine co-hosting with Michael. I wonder how she changed her mind. TMZ reported earlier Friday that the crew of Live was “furious” that Kelly was jeopardizing their jobs. Here’s People’s announcement.
Kelly Ripa has said she will be returning to co-host Live! With Kelly and Michael! alongside Michael Strahan PEOPLE has learned exclusively.
“They’re both expected to be there Tuesday,” a source says.
PEOPLE has learned exclusively that Kelly sent an email to her staff late Friday night saying: “Sorry for this late Friday night email. I wanted to thank you all for giving me the time to process this new information. Your kindness, support, and love has overwhelmed me. We are a family and I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday morning. Love, Kelly.”
TMZ has the background on Kelly’s change of heart. They say that Kelly was in talks with executives who promised her the show wasn’t being canceled. Their source also claims that Kelly wants Michael to leave before September. So it looks like Kelly’s press leaks may have been a strategic move to show that she wasn’t taking this lightly. I don’t know if it was the “right” way to handle it, but we have to see how this plays out. I do think she was treated poorly and that she took some time to think about it. TMZ also claims that Kelly and Michael haven’t gotten along for at least two years.
A source close to Strahan tells People that he’s looking forward to Kelly coming back, that he’s relieved and that “He got why she was mad but it was out of his control.” Whatever is going on, the ratings for this show are about to go through the roof. I know I’ll be watching Tuesday.
Photos credit: WENN and FameFlynet
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