INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Michael Strahan Can’t Wait To Leave ‘Live’ As Last Day Approaches, Tension Is Worse

By Amy Feinstein
Published on: 00:08 PST, May 12, 2016

In advance of Michael Strahan’s departure from Live With Kelly and Michael, Michael Strahan is counting down the hours until he is out of there as the dynamic between Strahan and Kelly Ripa worsens. The rapport between Strahan and Ripa seemed to be thawing a bit, but the deep freeze is reportedly back as Strahan will be gone in about 24 hours.

According to the Inquisitr, Kelly Ripa saw the departure of Michael Strahan coming over a year ago, when he started moonlighting with Good Morning America. What started as a great relationship with lots of chemistry has now boiled down to anger and resentment as Ripa sees Strahan jumping ship to leave Live and her behind. Ripa is also angry with ABC because she believes that by moving Strahan to another ABC show, the network is demonstrating that her show, Live, is not a priority.

People Magazine is reporting that the search for a replacement for Michael Strahan is in full swing, and Kelly Ripa won’t really move on until Strahan’s time at Live is a wrap. Strahan had initially planned to stay at Live until September, but after Kelly Ripa’s blowup, Strahan has decided to depart early.

Ripa believes that if she had been told in advance, a list would already have been narrowed down, but Strahan and ABC kept it from her. But for now, Ripa will move forward without Strahan.

“We just keep doing it one show at a time. We always try to remind ourselves it’s never as good as we think it is and it’s never as bad as we think it is. We just keep marching forward. That’s what we’ve done for years. It’s not a formula I invented. This is a formula that Regis [Philbin] created, and we’re sticking to it.”

Vulture is saying that Kelly Ripa essentially forced Michael Strahan out of Live early and wanted him to leave as soon as she found out what was really going on. Ripa wants to move on with the active search, and she couldn’t do it with Strahan around. Strahan actually wanted to stay through the summer, but allegedly Kelly Ripa is behind the accelerated timetable.

Vulture claims that until Live finds someone to “feign chemistry” with Kelly Ripa, fans will have to watch the stream of prospects sit in the co-host chair. The short list includes Jimmy Kimmel, Jussie Smollett, Cedric the Entertainer, David Muir, and Daniel Dae Kim, as well as perhaps top pic Anderson Cooper.

TMZ is reporting that after everything seemed to be getting better between Strahan and Ripa, they are back to not talking and preparing behind closed doors backstage. And reportedly, the acrimony is not limited to Strahan and Ripa, as the staff has gotten dragged into the scuffle, and they are concerned about their jobs and what work will be like after Strahan leaves on Friday.

The staff of Live is allegedly angry that while Kelly Ripa talks about Live as being a family, she hasn’t had much interaction with them since she returned from her walk-out protest. There is also a decent amount of support amongst the staff from Michael Strahan because much of the crew believe that Strahan did nothing wrong.

Both Live and Good Morning America are shows created by ABC, and Michael Strahan was asked by the network powers that be to jump ship to work at Good Morning America full-time. Strahan as seen by many as just being a good soldier for the company.

Do you think that Kelly Ripa forced Michael Strahan out of Live early?

[Photo by Dave Korlinsky/Getty Images]

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