'Live With Kelly and Michael' 2016: Kelly Ripa Ignoring Co-Host's Attempts To Reach Out? [VIDEO]
Kelly Ripa allegedly hasn't been responding to Michael Strahan's repeated attempts to reach out.
It's been a chaotic week behind the scenes at Live With Kelly and Michael after ABC announced on Tuesday that Strahan was leaving the show for Good Morning America. Meanwhile, Ripa has not shown up to work since that announcement, with guest co-hosts filling in for her all week.
Now, there's a new report via the New York Daily News that suggests Ripa may be ignoring Strahan's calls.
"He's reached out but there's been no response," an insider close to the show told the publication.
"He did the right thing and gave them a lot of notice that he was leaving at the end of the summer," another source said. "He's been there all week for the staff, she on the other hand has disappeared."
Meanwhile, there are rumors that ABC may be eying an expansion of Good Morning America into three hours. This would bump Live With Kelly and Michael's timeslot to later in the day.
A daytime veteran spoke with The Hollywood Reporter this week about Ripa's side of the story and how her learning about Strahan's exit may not be so novel.
"This is a woman who has been through a lot with that show and she has never shown it on the air," they said, including Ripa learning about Regis Philbin's intention to retire a mere 20 minutes before they were scheduled to go live on air. "She's upset that they're making GMA more important [and] just using her show as a training ground. It's like, this was the plan all along, that it just was a revolving door."
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Live, which is renewed through the 2019-20 television season. There have been reports that Ripa wants either Anderson Cooper or Andy Cohen to replace Strahan, though the latter told TMZ this week that he's just too busy for the job.
