Michael Strahan has had a laser focus when it comes to making his post-NFL career a success, and his relentless drive landed him the opportunity to become the first Black person to co-host the venerable “Live” talk show alongside longtime co-host Kelly Ripa. But all good things must come to an end and Strahan is moving on as an anchor on “Good Morning America.” Unfortunately, the news has come with controversy as rumors claim that Ripa isn’t happy about how Strahan left. Now, veteran TV titan Oprah Winfrey has chimed in on the drama.
According to media reports, Strahan was given a lucrative deal to jump ship from “Live” and join the “GMA” team this coming September. However, Ripa was reportedly completely unaware that Strahan was leaving the show and sources say that’s because Strahan was ordered to keep the deal top secret. she wasn’t notified of his departure until just minutes before ABC announced it.
Sources say that Ripa is furious about being blindsided with the news of Strahan’s departure. They say she’s even so mad that the reason she hasn’t been on air since is because she refuses to come back until next week. However, reps for ABC say that Ripa had scheduled vacation time until next Tuesday.
According to media reports, Winfrey recently spoke about Strahan’s new “GMA” deal and she explained how happy and excited she is for him.
“I just heard that he was going to be on ‘Good Morning America’ and I was really excited about that. I think he’s a great talent as we all do, I’m sure you do too.”
However, Winfrey wasn’t aware of the controversy with Ripa and when she was told about it, she commented that it wasn’t professional how Ripa was informed.
“And ‘blindsided?’ Not good,” Winfrey said. “She shouldn’t have to find out that way.”
Neither Ripa nor Strahan have confirmed the rumors of the tension, but several sources say that things are not good behind the scenes at “Live” right now. With rumors flying, we’re interested to see how Ripa and Strahan interact with each other when she returns to the show next Tuesday.
