careers

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