on air

Anderson Cooper takes down Florida’s Attorney General a second time

Jun 17, 2016 marc

After an emotional statement on Monday’s Anderson Copper 360 about the tragedy in Orlando, on Tuesday Cooper grilled Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi over her anti-gay record. Mainly, he questioned her championing herself as a voice for the LGBTQ community by establishing a hotline for spouses when Bondi had actively worked to limit gay rights. Bondi’s administration had used anti-gay rhetoric to fight same sex marriage in court, and Anderson brought it up to her. Bondi grew flustered and the interview, which you can watch here, ended professionally but tersely. After the segment aired, Bondi called in to WOR 710 radio and blamed Cooper for misleading her about the interview’s objective and editing her in a bad light. One problem, Cooper had his receipts and showed them on air that night. Fighting words. Anderson Cooper responded on Wednesday, June 15, to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s claims that their interview in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting, which aired live on CNN the previous day, was edited to portray her in a bad light. “She’s either mistaken or she’s not telling the truth,” the CNN host said on his show, Anderson Cooper 360. “Let’s be real here. Ms. Bondi’s big complaint seems to be that I asked in the wake of a massacre of gay and lesbian citizens about her new statements about the gay community and about her old ones.” Bondi claimed during a radio interview with WOR 710 in New York on Wednesday that she was led to believe that the interview with Cooper would focus on donation scams affecting the victims and their families. Instead, “when he posted the clip [online], he cut out the entire first portion that discussed people donating to legitimate funds,” she said, and insisted that all the interview did was “encourage anger and hate.” (CNN.com later posted the interview online in its entirety.) “There’s a time and place for everything, but yesterday wasn’t the time nor the place in front of a hospital when we could have been helping victims,” Bondi added. “For the record, my interview was not filled with any anger,” Cooper responded on air on Wednesday. “My job is to hold people accountable, and if on Sunday a politician is talking about love and about embracing ‘our LGBT community,’ I don’t think it’s unfair to look at their record and see if they have ever actually spoken that way publicly before, which I’ve never heard her say.” “The fact is Attorney General Bondi signed off on a 2014 federal court brief that claimed married gay people would ‘impose significant public harm.’ Harm. She spent hundreds of thousands in taxpayer money, gay and straight taxpayers’ money, trying to keep gays and lesbians from getting the right to marry,” he continued. “Good people can and do disagree on that issue — everyone has the right to their own opinion, thank goodness — but Miss Bondi is championing right now her efforts to help survivors. With the very right which allows gay spouses to bury their dead loved ones — that’s a right that would not exist if Miss Bondi had her way. I think it’s fair to ask her about that. There is an irony in that.” [From Us Magazine] I am so tired of the “time and place” argument to waylay discussions about gun and LGBTQ rights. I think when you can point to the result of these antiquated views and say, “that, right there,” it is the perfect time to hold a dialogue. Bondi did much more damage with her radio response than she did in the initial interview. Even without Cooper countering her every claim, she acted against her own argument that it wasn’t the time or place. She asserted Cooper stirred up anger and hate but she missed the point, Cooper’s questions were borne of the anger from the LGBTQ community. She could have admitted that her stance has changed and discussed what her office would do going forward but instead decided to call in for a proper pout to a radio station. Cooper said he does not like to make himself the story but he felt strongly about addressing her claims. I’m very glad he did. Just like Connecticut’s Rep Chris Murphy’s filibuster to get gun legislation on the floor, we need to keep up the pressure to have a real discourse that brings about a solution to mass shootings. Here’s is Copper’s full response to Bondi’s claims: Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Photo credit: fame/Flynet Photos and Getty Images

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US: Kelly Ripa may quit Live if she doesn’t get one of her friends to co-host

Apr 28, 2016 marc

I saw Live with Michael and Kelly yesterday and while I haven’t watched this show enough to have a frame of reference it looked like things were back to normal. They came out holding hands, they were joking around about eyelash extensions and butt padding and they seemed to have a great rapport. At times Kelly looked uncomfortable but you had to be looking for it. If it wasn’t for all the stories you wouldn’t know that they were having issues and that Michael is leaving in just two weeks. They never brought it up. He’s leaving early though, whether that was due to Kelly throwing a fit or just an executive decision it’s hard to tell. Kelly’s issue seems to be more with the ABC executives who kept her out of the loop than with Michael, who was just following orders not to tell her. Kelly is said to still be playing hardball at ABC after staying away for five days. Us is reporting that she’s threatened to quit if she doesn’t get one of her friends, either Anderson Cooper or Andy Cohen, to cohost. A source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly that Kelly Ripa “is talking about leaving” Live with Kelly and Michael after Michael Strahan announced his exit from the show for a permanent gig at Good Morning America. (Strahan was originally supposed to make the move in September, but the show announced this week that his last day on air will be May 13.) Although Ripa, 45, returned to the show after a four-episode hiatus Tuesday, April 26, the source says she still feels “blindsided” that producers and Strahan, 44, broke the news to her just moments before the April 19 public announcement: “She considers it a sign of disrespect.” Now, the 15-year Live vet will wait to see who producers seat beside her to help weigh her options for the future. They’re considering actor Jerry O’Connell, says the source, but Ripa “hopes Anderson Cooper or Andy Cohen gets the job.” Unfortunately, it’s not likely that one of Ripa’s pals will come aboard, due to their prior commitments (the CNN journalist is covering the election and the Watch What Happens Live host is under contract with Bravo), so the show may not go on for Ripa. Says the source, “Unless one of them can come on, she doesn’t really want to do it.” [From US Magazine] This is likely a negotiation tactic to make sure that Kelly has a say this time, because if she really means this it’s short-sighted for a couple of reason. One, just because she’s good friends with someone (she has known both Cooper and Cohen for years) does not mean they’re the best choice for a co-host. Working with a friend can bring up all sorts of problems you wouldn’t have with someone you only know in a professional capacity. And two, both of those guys are super busy with their own shows as US points out. This sounds like Kelly is just trying to get her way, but keep in mind that it could also be a planted story meant to make her look like a diva. We know the network is not above that, think of how TMZ got the news that Kelly’s finances are overextended. People reports that both Cooper and Cohen will come on as guest hosts following Strahan’s exit and that additional hosts will include Josh Groban and Seth Meyers. It’s unknown when a permanent host will be chosen and a source tells People “They’re prepared to keep cycling people through even if its not resolved by the fall.” E! Online has a think piece about this while debacle. (I really like their editorials lately, they seem to be going in a new direction.) They have quotes from a media expert who says that the way this has played out so far “it looks like Kelly won” against the network. Their source also gives ABC credit for letting Kelly say her piece at the beginning of her return show and not trying to censor or pre-tape her remarks. Also, Bellamy Young of “Scandal” was a guest on Tuesday’s show and she said that although there was tension backstage it all felt completely professional during her interview. Kathy Lee Gifford, who was replaced by Kelly on Live 15 years ago after she put in 15 years with Regis, has some advice for Kelly which sounds like delicious shade. She said “Be totally professional. I would keep anything that is going on between you private. It’s nobody’s business but yours. But always, always be professional at your job. That’s what you’re hired to do.” You know Kathy does not consider it professional to take a bunch of days off work and then insist that a friend be hired to work with you. Photos credit: WENN.com and screenshots from ABC

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Kelly Ripa is on vacation now and is ghosting Michael Strahan

Apr 22, 2016 celebrityabout

Embed from Getty Images I’m surprised how much interest there’s been in the Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan drama happening at ABC and I’m also surprised at the sheer number of stories about it. There are a massive amount of details coming out. While I was team Kelly yesterday and am still on her side I am starting to get the impression that she’s somewhat petty too. She came out of her townhouse in New York yesterday carrying a copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath, which seems to be a transparent metaphor for her situation with the big bad network. People is reporting that Kelly “jetted off to the Turks and Caicos islands to celebrate her 20th anniversary right after learning that her co-host Michael Strahan was leaving their show,” but this is not supported by paparazzi photos of her outside her townhouse yesterday. She heard Strahan was leaving on Tuesday, so maybe “right after” means the next day. The Ny Daily News has a very pro-Strahan piece about how he was professional in announcing his exit (remember that he was allegedly under orders not to tell her) and gave her several months’ notice considering that he’s not leaving until the end of the summer. He’s also been trying to contact Kelly, according to a source, but she’s not responding to him at all. He keeps calling, but she won’t pick up the phone. Michael Strahan has repeatedly tried to reach out to co-host Kelly Ripa but has been rebuffed, Confidenti@l has learned. “He’s reached out but there’s been no response,” a source close to the show said. Strahan shocked Ripa and “Live!” executive producer Michael Gelman Tuesday when he revealed to them in a post-show meeting that he was leaving “Live! With Kelly and Michael” to join “Good Morning America” full time. “He did the right thing and gave them a lot of notice that he was leaving at the end of the summer,” a second show source said. “He’s been there all week for the staff, she on the other hand has disappeared.” Ripa — who called out sick Wednesday and then took what a show rep says was a “planned vacation” — looked perfectly healthy as she exited her Upper East Side townhouse clutching a copy of Malcom Gladwell’s “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants.” [From NY Daily News] The NY Daily News also points out that Strahan didn’t attend a scheduled charity co-hosting event Tuesday night for the NYC Food Bank. He did send a video message though. Strahan, 44, was also photographed out with his 27 year-old girlfriend in their workout clothes yesterday. They’ve been dating over a year, and she doesn’t pass the “half his age plus seven” rule by a couple of years. Strahan appeared yesterday on both Live, co-hosting with Erin Andrews, and Good Morning America, which he’s set to join full time in September. On GMA he credited Kelly with teaching him the ropes and called her “family.” There were rumors that GMA’s Lara Spencer felt shafted by Strahan’s appointment at the show because she was hoping to get a promotion to the position he’s taking as lead anchor. A source denies to E! that Spencer is upset and states “Lara and Michael are very close friends.” People is reporting that Strahan will double his salary by moving to GMA and will be making $20 million a year. Ripa reportedly makes around $15 million at Live. CNN is reporting that execs plan to test out other co-hosts for Ripa once Strahan leaves this fall and they’re not planning on canceling the show as rumored. I wonder if they’re rethinking that now that Kelly is MIA and her people have talked to just about every outlet. Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images