Anything can happen on unscripted television, especially when the content is being filmed live. All of the cue cards and prompts in the world just can’t always prevent moments of on-screen awkwardness. Kelly Ripa brought about a very awkward moment in a recent episode of Live! with Kelly and Michael when she brought up co-host Michael Strahan’s divorces. Check it out!
Who says awkward can’t be funny? Kelly Ripa’s pointed comment about Michael Strahan’s divorces might have turned their “bird nesting” banter into a very uncomfortable couple of minutes, but Strahan’s reaction was entertaining enough that it was easier to laugh at the awkwardness than cringe in secondhand embarrassment. Strahan rallied very quickly from Ripa’s jab, and the entire clip is worth playing a second time just to catch all of his expressions as he chose not to rise to Ripa’s bait. Strahan looked more amused than offended, and he saved the moment from being hard to watch.
Kelly Ripa might have just seemed insensitive or oblivious if she had made this comment a couple of weeks ago, but the recent drama behind the scenes at Live! with Kelly and Michael makes it difficult to believe that she wasn’t deliberately trying to poke at one of her co-host’s sore spots. Considering that she seems to be made entirely of sore spots nowadays, a few minutes of active unprofessionalism are definitely feasible.
The drama comes from the recent announcement that Michael Strahan would be jumping ship from Live! with Kelly and Michael and moving to a full-time gig on Good Morning America. Kelly Ripa was, evidently, not given much forewarning that she’d be losing her co-host before the big news went public. Strahan has had nothing but good things to say about Ripa and even went so far as to imply that he made the decision to leave based on his treatment by a producer. Still, Ripa responded to the slight and the subsequent rumor that Live! would be cancelled by taking off for an unexpected leave of absence from the show.
Kelly Ripa’s return earlier this week brought big ratings, and she seemed to have gotten her objections out of her system, but mentioning Michael Strahan’s divorces on camera is a pretty big indicator that she still has some bitterness to vent. She wasn’t exactly wearing the best poker face during their chat about how divorced parents might deal with sharing their children. Averting her eyes and repeatedly commenting that she couldn’t relate because she hasn’t been divorced certainly could have been more subtle. Come on, Kelly. Put some effort into it. No wonder Strahan seemed more inclined to laugh than to fire back.
Michael Strahan is making his big exit from Live! with Kelly and Michael on May 13, so there isn’t time for too many more awkward moments between the co-hosts. For a look at what other series you’ll be able to catch in the near future, check out our summer TV premiere schedule.
