INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Was Jerry O’Connell Asked To Host ‘Live! With Kelly’?

By Niki Cruz
Published on: 14:00 PST, May 10, 2016

Jerry O’Connell was rumored to replace Michael Strahan on Live! but has the move already been made to get O’Connell in Strahan’s seat?

Well, we’re not exactly sure if O’Connell will replace Strahan, but he has co-hosted the show numerous times in Strahan’s place. It would make the transition for Kelly Ripa and the audience easier if ABC decides to go with O’Connell.

While everything us up in the air as Strahan gets ready to depart from Live! Jerry O’Connell has already said he’s team Kelly. According to Us Weekly, O’Connell gushed about Ripa and the possibility of getting to work day by day beside her.

“To get to work next to Kelly Ripa would be anyone’s dream in that field. Kelly is the best of the best…. Having worked with her there at Live, Kelly is the best. I’m always Team Kelly.”

It sounds like this is a perfect match that needs to happen. That said, O’Connell hasn’t been asked to co-host again since Strahan announced his departure from the show. Either way, it looks like Live! will start to test out possible long-term replacements very soon.

Although Jerry O’Connell hasn’t been approached, the actor and personality said that he was up for the job. “It would be an honor — I would do anything Kelly asked me to do,” O’Connell says of joining Ripa, 45, permanently. “That’s how much I respect her.”

As the Inquisitr reported, co-hosts will be rotated, and here’s the line up so far, which will start on May 16. Jimmy Kimmel will hop over to Live!, and the rest of the line-up continues to get better with some familiar faces. Empire actor Jussie Smollett is set to take the co-host spot next to Kelly, and then on May 17, Cedric the Entertainer will jump in, followed by news anchor David Muir and Hawaii Five-O actor Daniel Dae Kim.

Prior to the announcement, many fans had hoped that Regis Philbin would come back, but as it turns out Philbin hasn’t heard from Kelly Ripa since he left the show. He also has an occasional gig at Today show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.

Even though Michael Strahan is departing the show, he does want to set the record straight about the drama that followed his announcement. As we know, no one at ABC told Kelly Ripa that he planned to depart for a new gig at Good Morning America. She found out when everyone else did, through a press release, which isn’t normal for someone who has been working on the show for years. She had no time to prepare a statement, so instead of coming back to work, Ripa fled to Turks and Caicos with her family for a whole week. At the time, it wasn’t known whether or not she would return, or if ABC would have her back.

As it turns out, Strahan felt misrepresented by the whole media backlash that he received, as Ripa was even backed by Oprah herself.

At the time, Strahan told ET that “everybody got the wrong impression.” In fact it sounded like he was still singing Live!‘s praises.

“Every week is great, every day is great for me. I’m on the other side of the dirt. Yeah I’m looking forward to [moving to Good Morning America full time], but I’m still looking forward to going to work for Live!… I love being there. I still love it… It’s a great show, great people, and I’m very fortunate to be a part of it.”

Despite what Strahan said, there’s been palpable tension between Kelly and Michael since her return, and she even got a few shots at the former NFL player’s expense.

[Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images]

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