Michael Strahan 'GMA' Salary: Oprah Says Kelly Ripa Being 'Blindsided' Is 'Not Good', Where Is 'Live!' Host? [VIDEO]
Oprah Winfrey has sounded off after Michael Strahan reportedly left Kelly Ripa “blindsided” when he announced his departure from ABC’s Live With Kelly & Michael to Good Morning America.
The television icon talked with Extra just after the news hit and revealed her first reaction.
“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.”
But when she heard that Ripa had no clue about Strahan’s upcoming change, she said that is “not good.”
As for Ripa, she headed for a vacation in the Caribbean just after the news hit that Strahan was leaving the show for Good Morning America. She wasn’t on the show Wednesday and Ana Gasteyer, formerly of NBC’s Saturday Night Live filled in. Ripa was also MIA on Thursday and Erin Andrews sat in her spot. While Ripa already had a vacation planned with her family in Turks and Caicos, reports say that she left much sooner than she originally planned to, most likely because of Strahan’s upcoming departure.
“She’s dedicated everything to the program," a source told PEOPLE. "It was the primary focus in her career, she has been dedicated to maintaining the show for both the staff and viewers--and then all of a sudden the entire program is changed without them being decent enough to give her any notice.”
The source added that she doesn’t plan to speak out it to the media but instead be “mature.”
