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.