Sunday, October 6, 2024

Michael Strahan Leaving Live with Kelly on May 13– Quickie Divorce for Sake of Audience

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Michael Strahan is out.

He’s leaving “Live with Kelly” on May 13th. They’re getting a quickie divorce for the sake of the audience.

I’ve known Kelly Ripa since she started with Regis. I don’t believe for a minute that she was mean to Strahan or forced him out. Michael Gelman has been a steady force at that show for over two decades. This is not their fault.

I think Strahan probably felt constrained and wanted to do different things. The whole thing has been handled as badly as Ann Curry’s exit from Today, or a dozen other instances. All that PR expertise and no one knows how to take care of these issues. Amazing.

The search for a co-host can go on all summer and into the fall. Ripa can do the show blind-folded. If she were really smart, she’d ask Regis to come back and help out, make a big deal of him. He and Gelman are still very friendly. Getting Regis back even for a bit would be the coup of the century.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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