Over the years, Kelly Ripa has gained massive fame and fortune through her talents as an actor
and TV personality. But she has also made her fair share of enemies along the way.
Here are the stars who can't stand this popular morning host.
NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan partnered with Kelly Ripa for Live with Kelly and
Michael in 2012. They were a dynamic duo right out the gate, and even took home
a Daytime Emmy Award in 2016. In front of the camera, the two were always smiling,
but things took a turn when the Super Bowl champ announced his departure from the show.
"I was reading some stuff and it sounded like I died. I was like it's not a eulogy, people."
After news of Strahan's move to Good Morning America went public, TMZ reported Ripa allegedly
bullied her longtime co-host behind the scenes. And in 2016, Strahan told People magazine,
"At one point I think we were friends. I don't know what happened at the end."
"I'm fairly certain that there are trained professional snipers with
tranquilizer darts in case I drift too far off message."
Attempting to bury the hatchet, Strahan told The New York Times in
2020 he tried to set up bi-weekly meetings with his former co-host,
but was denied. Regarding his transition from the NFL to the small screen, he said,
"On television, I've had jobs where I got there and felt like: Wow,
I didn't know I was supposed to be a sidekick. I thought I was coming here to be a partner."
After revealing they were no longer on speaking terms, Strahan said,
"I don't hate her. I do respect her for what she can do at her job."
The late Regis Philbin earned the Guinness World Record for most hours on U.S. television
and shared the spotlight with Ripa for ten years on Live with Regis and Kelly. Ripa would become
his successor on the series that he launched in 1983, back when it was called The Morning Show.
"Welcome to the beginning of a brand new show here on WABC-TV Channel 7,
it's called The Morning Show."
During their stint hosting together, Ripa revealed to The New York Times that Regis had a strict rule
about not talking off-camera, instead saving the magic for the show. But since his departure,
more has come out about their behind-the-scenes chemistry. Philbin told The Insider,
"I think [Ripa] got angry when I left. I wasn't trying to dive from her."
"Do you keep in touch with Kelly Ripa? Not really, no."
The strained relationship between Ripa and Philbin was nothing like his
connection to former Live co-host, Kathie Lee Gifford. In 2019, Philbin told Today,
"Kathie Lee, you want to know the best part of my life, my TV life, was in the 15 years I spent with
you, 1985 to 2000. We stayed friends throughout the entire game and it was a lot of fun."
Philbin's estranged relationship with Ripa suggests the longtime
co-hosts didn't click outside of the studio.
Never one to mince words, Howard Stern hasn't shied away from turning heel on Ripa. The shock
jock has openly criticized the six-time Daytime Emmy Award winner for her attitude
toward former Live co-hosts Philbin and Strahan. When Ripa skipped out on Live
following Strahan's departure announcement, Stern wasted no time in throwing her shade.
On a 2016 episode of his SiriusXM show, Stern said of Ripa,
"[You] can't play hooky on your own show."
In October 2019, the host mentioned to guest Jimmy Kimmel that he suspected foul play between Ripa
and Regis led to Philbin's exit from Live with Regis and Kelly, when he suggested,
"Don't you think they should have Regis on that show once a year at least?
I think he would've liked to at least be associated in some way with the show and
remind people that he's the guy who started that whole thing."
"People say that there's trouble.”
“There's no trouble.”
“Well, I hear and I read…”
“She couldn't be happier.”
“Really. And how 'bout you?"
It's worth noting that Stern and Ripa were once friendly: Not only did Ripa attend Stern's 2008
wedding, but as People magazine noted, her husband Mark Consuelos acted as the officiant.
Rosie O'Donnell has never been a fan of Ripa. In the reported tell-all,
Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View, O'Donnell claimed,
"Kelly Ripa is mean. […] She wanted to have this weird feud."
O'Donnell also alleged that when they run into each other in public,
Ripa avoids eye contact. Their beef dates back to a 2006 episode of Live with Regis and Kelly
that O'Donnell dredged back up in Ladies Who Punch. In one instance when guest co-host Clay
Aiken put his hand over Ripa's mouth, Ripa told him the move was inappropriate, adding,
"I don't know where that hand has been, honey."
When this moment came up as a topic on The View,
O'Donnell called the remark, quote, "homophobic," explaining,
"If that was a guy that she didn't question his sexuality she would have said a different thing."
When Philbin returned to his post on Live, Ripa claimed that Aiken was
hostile and that she felt disrespected by his gesture. Over a decade later,
Us Weekly reported that an insider claimed O'Donnell actually apologized to Ripa for
rehashing the situation in the book. And given Ripa's support of the LGBTQ community,
it's safe to assume her comment to Aiken was not mean spirited.
"So even though we talked about it and I apologized,
she, I think, doesn't trust me anymore, or would rather just not deal with me."
The day after the 2016 presidential election,
then-Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly joined forces with Ripa to co-host Live.
"My co-host today is Megyn Kelly everyone."
But by fall 2017, they were pitted as rivals when Megyn Kelly Today aired during the same
time slot as Live with Kelly and Ryan. With Kelly drifting away from political coverage,
some speculated she was gunning for Live's viewership. But as Live continued
to dominate ratings, an industry insider told Page Six that NBC's hiring of Kelly
wasted her talent and the company's dime. By 2018, Kelly's show was canceled just a year
into their three-year contract. There were immediately whispers of a rivalry between
Kelly and Ripa. It's worth mentioning that at the time, Gossip Cop reported,
"There [are] elements of truth, but the story is ultimately misleading."
While a feud between the two hosts was never confirmed,
some may wonder why Kelly distanced herself from politics to emulate a similar style to Live.
In 2017, Ripa told The New York Times that Live doesn't battle with other programs. She said,
"We don't compare ourselves to anybody because we are the only ones who do what we do."
Ripa and Jessica Seinfeld were once total BFFs. So much so, that in 2014,
the two went on a summer vacation to Greece with their hubbies, Mark Consuelos and Jerry Seinfeld.
Ripa even celebrated Jessica's 43rd birthday with her. And Jessica even once posted on Instagram,
"When God gives you another sister […] just with a different last name, [Kelly Ripa]."
But somewhere along the line, this sisterly friendship folded. Both parties have reportedly
been silent about their friendship status for years. In 2017, a source told Blind Gossip,
"They hate each other now. If you see either of them in person, don't ask what happened to
their friendship. They will simply turn their back on you and walk away without answering.
It's left their mutual [celebrity] friends in the awkward position of having to choose […] sides."
It's no secret Ripa has been a longtime critic of The Bachelor and its spinoffs.
She has openly disapproved of the show's format that pits a group of
ladies against one another, to fight over a dude. She said in early 2019,
"You know how I feel about the show, it disgusts me."
"All of you women watch that gross, gross show."
Ripa's remarks about the series caught the attention of Bachelor Nation and its brass,
when longtime host Chris Harrison weighed in on Twitter:
"Look out Bachelor Nation [Kelly Ripa] is coming after
you and your 'disgusting' Monday night habit."
Show creator, Mike Fleiss, jumped in by tweeting,
"Easy, [Kelly Ripa] […] The Bachelor franchise pays your salary!"
That's when Grey's Anatomy actor Ellen Pompeo then called out Fleiss on Twitter, writing,
"Okay [Mike Fleiss]. […] Your show does NOT pay [Kelly Ripa's] salary.
Also we don't attack successful women on our network and men certainly cannot take credit
for their success. Don't get me started on your show cuz I'm a savage. […] #bachelorsoooowhite."
Season 23 Bachelor, Colton Underwood, posted his own clap-back, after Ripa called the series,
quote, "disgusting" and "creepy." In a now-deleted tweet he wrote,
"How mad is Kelly Ripa going to be when The Bachelor wins
an Emmy this year? #ThankYouForYourConsideration."
The guy who won the 2019 MTV Movie & TV award for Most Meme-Able Moment told Us Weekly,
"[It] was all in good fun. […] We’re […] both on ABC, so I don’t take it
too personal. […] It really isn’t that big of a deal, it just got blown out of proportion."
But Underwood shouldn't have been too caught off guard by Ripa's comments. When the former Bachelor
In Paradise contestant was a guest on Live With Kelly and Ryan earlier that year, Ripa was not
shy about critiquing the show or playfully questioning his participation on the series.
"You don't have to do this. You are a lovely human being.”
“But, Kelly, I had so much fun."
In 2012, actor Christopher Walken appeared on Live with Kelly and Michael to promote
Seven Psychopaths, and the interview started a bit of drama. When Walken revealed that his
character kidnaps dogs for ransom, including a dog belonging to a gangster, Ripa replied,
"But the gangster's dog is uh, I mean if it's a gangster,
it would have to be a dangerous, uh, pit bull kind of dog, right?"
The assumption did not sit well with animal-loving actors Kaley Cuoco and
Wil Wheaton. The Star Trek: The Next Generation actor tweeted,
"I'm not a gangster. My friend [Kaley Cuoco] is not a gangster. My dog Seamus is not dangerous.
[Kelly Ripa] couldn't be more wrong. […] I hope [Kelly Ripa] will do some research, spend some
time with a Pit Bull, and correct the misleading impression she gave millions of people."
"I've always had a connection to all animals."
"You know, they don't have a voice. Maybe
that's where I feel like we need to give them all some sort of voice."
In a since-deleted tweet Cuoco also asked,
"Did Kelly Ripa really say 'all pits are dangerous' on her show this a.m.?"
But the social media uproar didn't tank the relationship between Ripa and Cuoco.
In a now-deleted tweet, The Big Bang Theory star assured fans,
"Ok I'm NOT in a war [with] [Kelly Ripa]. We are friends for years and I adore her!
[I] just have a severe luv [for] my global pitbull fam and owners!"
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