Andy Cohen Won’t Leave Bravo For Michael Strahan’s Job On ‘Live’, Says Anderson Cooper Is Perfect

Andy Cohen won’t be leaving Bravo to take a seat next to Kelly Ripa. After Michael Strahan’s surprise exit from Live, now many are wondering who will take his place. There seems to be some drama on-set and Kelly hasn’t been back since Strahan’s announcement. Andy has the perfect solution for Kelly and Live, though. He thinks they should hire Anderson Cooper to fill the now-empty seat, according to TMZ.

Cohen has made his position clear and he is siding with Kelly Ripa in the TV breakup of Ripa and her longtime partner, Michael Strahan. Kelly was blindsided on Tuesday by news that Strahan would be leaving Live with Kelly and Michael to take a full time position on Good Morning America. Ripa hasn’t been back to the show since finding out that Strahan was leaving. Although she’s remained silent on social media, something not normally in her character, Kelly is said to be reeling after Strahan’s surprise exit.

There are rumors that executives at ABC knew ahead of time about Strahan’s exit and chose not to tell Ripa or anyone else in order to control when the shocking move was going to be announced and to prevent leaks. Considering that both shows are on the same network, news of Strahan’s move had to have been bouncing around within ABC’s elite hallways. And for some reason, they didn’t inform Kelly Ripa and if that’s the case, then who can blame her for taking some time off to collect her thoughts after losing her co-host of four years?

When Andy Cohen was confronted about rumors that he was at the top of the list to take Michael Strahan’s place, Cohen was quick to clear things up. The Bravo king said that he’s way too busy with all of his own projects to add Live to his list. However, while Andy said he couldn’t join the show, he did throw a friend’s name in for consideration instead.

“I have like 10 jobs dude, do you know how many jobs I have?”Andy told TMZ when they asked if he would be taking a seat next to Ripa on the morning show. It’s a true statement; between all the Real Housewives shows, hosting their reunions and Watch What Happens Live!, Andy Cohen doesn’t have time to take on more projects. It’s highly unlikely that the king of Bravo would give up his throne to take a seat next to Kelly no matter how great of friends they are. Instead he offered up his pal, Anderson Cooper, who he believes would be perfect for the job. Both Cohen and Cooper have subbed as co-hosts on Live many times and both would be great alongside Kelly in a long-term position.

Andy Cohen Thinks Anderson Cooper Is the Perfect Replacement for Michael Strahan https://t.co/t3B9hEUbSD pic.twitter.com/ArXU0Vyx8I

— Bravotv (@Bravotv) April 21, 2016

Andy was quick to support his friend after reports claim that Ripa is reeling from Strahan’s surprise exit from Live. Cohen posted a picture of himself and Kelly Ripa to Instagram after hearing the news that there might be drama on the Live set. Andy simply captioned the photo with “#MorningQueen.”

Even Oprah spoke out in Ripa’s defense after learning about Strahan’s surprise exit from the show. “Blindsided is never good,” Winfrey told Entertainment Tonight. “I don’t know who’s in charge, but somebody should’ve said, ‘This is gonna happen.’ You shouldn’t have to read it in the paper. Ever.”

Kelly Ripa was courted by GMA—but declined because ‘her loyalty is to her show’ https://t.co/SzB8petQEb pic.twitter.com/leftaEpdJe

— People Magazine (@people) April 21, 2016

Winfrey even suggested that if Kelly Ripa wanted to do Live on her own, she doesn’t really need a co-host. Is there a possibility that no one will fill Michael Strahan’s vacant seat? Could Kelly really carry the show by herself or does she needs someone there with her?

“I had a co-host for a long time and I wanted to do it by myself,” Winfrey said before turning her attention to Ripa’s now-former co-host. “He’s going to be great on Good Morning America. I think Michael’s so great. He’s like a natural talent. He won’t get any sleep, but he will be great.”

[Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images]