INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Michael Strahan’s Recent Interview Reignites Kelly Ripa ‘Live’ Feud And Makes ABC Executives ‘Livid’

By Georgia Makitalo
Published on: 09:42 PST, Sep 22, 2016

New Good Morning America host Michael Strahan is currently featured on the cover of People magazine along with an exclusive interview, where he talks and reflects on his relationship history with Kelly Ripa. Now, the suits at ABC are “livid” that the former NFL star has reopened some still-fresh wounds. Has Michael Strahan reignited his feud with former Live co-star Kelly Ripa with his recent interview?

When the producers decided to help build up the ratings for the GMA audience, they went to popular and charismatic Live co-host Michael Strahan. This resulted in Kelly Ripa saying she felt “blindsided” by being kept in the dark from this information. In the recent interview, Strahan admitted that their relationship became very strained in the last days.

“I wasn’t surprised by her reaction at all, but I can’t control somebody else’s actions. I was there four years, and it’s about more than just being in front of the camera.”

Strahan revealed that he was concerned that fans of the show thought that he walked out on the daytime program and that he was painted as the bad guy. This was not the case!

“The most disappointing thing to me was that I was painted as the bad guy, because I value the way I carry myself. I don’t want people to see me as ‘Oh, he just ran out, just left them there.’ That’s just not true.”

Insiders at ABC have reported that the producers are livid about Michael Strahan’s candid interview. They feel that this reopened the still-healing wounds from the entire Live co-host debacle last spring.

Just a week ago, ABC president Ben Sherwood spoke with the Hollywood Reporter and admitted that the network made some huge mistakes with how they planned to transition Strahan to Good Morning America, thus leaving Ripa in the dark until the very last moment. He admitted that this experience meant they “learned that more communication is better.” But, in the long run, Live is still a strong show.

“We made some mistakes, we fixed them quickly and we moved on. I was on the set of Live recently: The show is in great shape, Kelly is in a great place, the hunt for a new co-host is underway, the excitement is building, and I believe the future of that show is bright.”

In the end, there may be some confusion as to why the producers behind Live and GMA are livid over Strahan’s interview. Strahan has certainly been a team player. On his last days of Live, he had to endure Ripa’s snarky comments about his divorce. She was very public about this whole communication breakdown that was not the fault of Strahan. Like any team player, he listened to his coaches, the ABC execs, and they called the shots. While it is certainly understandable that her reaction towards the situation was justified, her reaction towards the popular Strahan was not. Not communicating with her was not something he had decided, yet, the way it was played out, it did not put the former Live co-star in a good light. On the side of the ABC executives, they have been scrambling to try to solve the crumbling GMA ratings. In the end, there have been a lot of mistakes made in the public eye and Ripa and Strahan’s relationship suffered from this unfortunate communication situation.

As the Inquisitr recently reported, when Strahan signed on to join the GMA team, he gave up his lucrative endorsements worth millions of dollars from such companies as Dr. Pepper, Right Guard, Metamucil, and Pizza Hut. He did not hide this information from Ripa on his own accord. He was instructed by producers that they would speak to her about his move to GMA. As a seasoned football player used to his coach’s instructions, it does not sound like Strahan questioned how the producers chose to tell Ripa. He just followed their instructions.

As of now, there has still not been a permanent replacement for Michael Strahan. From the start, Kelly Ripa was said to demand that either Andy Cohen or Anderson Cooper become her co-host, or she would leave the show. Ripa has had a stream of co-hosts since mid-May when Strahan made an early exit from the show. The Daily Mail believes that Anderson Cooper will become her new co-host in November after the elections.

Do you think that Michael Strahan’s comments have reignited the Live feud with Kelly Ripa?

[Featured Image by Mark Davis/Getty Images]

Share this article: Michael Strahan’s Recent Interview Reignites Kelly Ripa ‘Live’ Feud And Makes ABC Executives ‘Livid’
good morning america kelly ripa michael strahan
More from Inquisitr