Kelly Ripa has given her first interview since drama ensued behind the scenes of her talk show “Live! with Kelly and Michael” April 19 after co-host Michael Strahan announced he would be leaving the popular syndicated series after just four years to join “Good Morning America” on a full-time basis.
In People’s May 23 cover story, Ripa discussed being blindsided by Strahan’s announcement (the news was delivered to her at almost the exact same time that it went public) and why she took a stand for herself by taking a day off from work to think things over and figure out how to best handle the situation.
“I think that all people are deserving of fair treatment in the workplace,” Ripa said. “People deserve respect. People should be treated equally and with dignity.”
Ripa has been with “Live’s” parent company, Dinsey/ABC, for 26 years (starting out on the soap opera “All My Children” in 1990) and considers the network “family.” “And sometimes when you are so comfortable with somebody, you may not give them the same consideration as somebody you’re not as comfortable with - a certain formality falls away,” she added.
The petite blonde also said that she doesn’t think anyone at the company is “a monster or out to get” her. “But sometimes stability and dependability can be misinterpreted as passive,” she explained. “Like, ‘Oh, we don’t have to worry about her, she’s fine. She’s fine.’”
Is the 45-year-old happy for Strahan and his new gig? “We’re excited for Michael,” she said. “He wanted that job, and it’s great for him. I think it is a perfect match, I really do. However, what nobody considered is there’s a whole other group of people it really impacts, because we have to now find another great person.”
She, of course, is talking about filling the soon-to-be empty seat beside her once Strahan departs this Friday. After co-host Regis Philbin decided to leave the show in 2011, Ripa and the “Live” staff auditioned replacements for almost one year before choosing the former football player for the role.
“Chemistry and camaraderie and trust” is not easy to find, Ripa relayed. “It doesn’t just fall out of the sky. It takes a lot of work, and it takes a group discussion.”
Jimmy Kimmel will be the first guest co-host to sit beside Ripa on “Live,” first appearing on the May 16 episode.
Among the top candidates rumored for the permanent job are Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen, Neil Patrick Harris, Jerry O’Connell and Mark Consuelos (Ripa’s real-life husband).
“To get to work next to Kelly Ripa would be anyone’s dream in that field,” O’Connell said. “Kelly is the best of the best.”
