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ABC Executives Acknowledge They "Misfired" On How Kelly Ripa Found Out About Michael Strahan's Exit!

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

The ABC suits have now apparently apologized to former All My Children star and co-host of Live with Kelly and Michael, Kelly Ripa!

According to reports on Monday, top executives at Disney and ABC, which include: Ben Sherwood, president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, ABC stations president Rebecca Campbell, and ABC News president James Goldston personally apologized to Kelly Ripa for last week’s bungled announcement about the departure of her co-host Michael Strahan.

Come September, Strahan is moving from “Live,” which is overseen by Campbell, to “GMA,” which is overseen by Goldston.

CNN reports that the bosses apologized to Strahan too.  The apology also extended to the Hollywood agents who represent the co-hosts.   ABC executives expressed regret for the way Ripa found out the news.

Ripa was informed after last Tuesday’s episode and 30 minutes before the news got out that Strahan quit “Live!” for a full time gig at “GMA”  As for Campbell, who now also oversees General Hospital and is based in California, sheflew to New York to manage Ripa’s return on Tuesday.  Dave Davis, who now runs WABC, is the other executive involved.  Campbell used to run WABC in New York where Live with Kelly and Michael‘s studio resides.

So, doesn’t this bring up memories of Susan Lucci finding out about All My Children shortly before they announced to the rest of the cast and to the world that the show had been canceled?  Did the ABC executives do right by apologizing to Kelly … or is to little too late?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Well, at least they DID apologize, but this should never have happened in the first place!
The ABC higher-ups are a bunch of idiots if they thought they were handling this well. Not the way to treat a long-term company employee, but as with most large corporations these days, the suits care about nothing the the almighty $$…and the employees be damned!

They are the WORST network. CBS at least appreciates their daytime lineup. ABC continually gives it the back of their hand.

Looks bad for ABC. Makes GMA look desperate. I’m with Kelly on this one–and I loved her closing comment about her father (a busdriver for 30 years) thinking they were all ”crazy.’ Certainly brought reality to the who debacle, didn’t it?

Good point about her Dad.

It does indeed remind me of The Susan Lucci saga. I’m glad ABC apologized. Now they need to clean up their mess and Kelly’s slightly tarnished reputation. (Although, I was Team Kelly all the way. I would have reacted the same way.)

It’s a MUCH bigger issue than that. ABC wants to take away LIVE’s established hour and extend GMA with a third hour. Not only will Strahan host that hour for GMA, but the real question is, what happens to LIVE? What about Kelly? Why would ABC mess with a show like LIVE that is doing well? ABC Daytime’s latest executive shuffle is starting to wreak havoc in a very messy, irrevocably dangerous manner.

What about Kelly?? The way she reacted is prime example. She did not start this show and she does not sign Michael Strahan’s pay check. Anyone else would have been fired. I hope they do cancel the show now. Serves her right.

Well at least some of the ego driven upper management of the CBS & Disney group had the maturity to apologize to both Kelly and Michael.
The thing that bothers me is that Michael didn’t just tell them to shove the idea of keeping Kelly in the dark about his leaving Live when he was told to keep quiet. After all it was assumed they were on good terms as co-hosts. Although I have noticed since Michael was flying back and forth from LA to NYC for GMA and Live, he was less focused on Live and probably due to being tired with the flying back and forth. Seemed asinine to take the GMA job in the first place as he must have been making a good salary there. The gender disparity in the TV industry and which extends to the film industry is discouraging when looking at salaries, how the men will work as they age even if overweight and wrinkled as opposed to the women. With the salaries being so different too, it’s speaks to such a lack of respect for the talents, the inherent worth of the women in this entertainment world. This incident is just another example of the range of disrespect toward women. It’s as if they have no worth really and it’s all the ‘man’s world’ and decisions are made without any concern for the lack of equality. The equality is certainly deserved when it comes to Kelly Ripa. She has made Live the show it is today. This past week, with the guest hosts and Strahan made the show absolutely ‘limp’ and not the show it is with Kelly. I believe the management should not only apologize to both Kelly and Michael but also give them both a cash payment for the discomfort they caused them both. And maybe since the entertainment world is all about money, a loss to Disney and CBS would give them pause to revamp their attitude toward women in the business. Shame on them and shame on Michael for agreeing to their demand to be silent about quitting Live. I wish Kelly the best and hope she has the respect now she should have had all along.

So Michael should have gone against his boss and told Kelly. What a crock. Respect goes a long way but it does not put food on your table and it sure does not pay your bills. I am so sick of the way Kelly reacted like a brat. There is a replacement for everyone, including her. Just saying

While I do appreciate a difference of opinion may I point out that Kelly has years of experience working at Live, not Michael. He was a football player for goodness sakes and happens to have had the opportunity to do some sports announcing. He is not an actor, he’s never had to host a live on-air show himself, as Kelly has done when with Regis. Are you aware the same backhandedness occurred when Regis announced his retirement. Kelly was told just 20 minutes before she went on air that morning. Before Kelly was on Live she had been an actor on All My Children with the scripts, long hours, short filming of scenes which all made her the consummate choice when Kathy-Lee left Live. She was a fantastic choice for Live when that occurred years ago now. I recall when she had to ‘do’ the show alone for the first time without Regis and yes, it was certain she was nervous, but her outgoing personality, her honestly and quick humour (which shows intelligence, if you aren’t aware) won over audiences and still does. Anyone who has a huge secret kept from them when there was no real reason NOT to tell the person (and what exactly WAS the reason Kelly wasn’t told – never did have a clear understanding of that despite the media coverage) caused Kelly to feel hurt (and yes, even people on TV have feelings and SHOULD HAVE an expectation of being respected for who they are on the job and also in the relationships they have with the others on a show including management. It was that lack of respect which I found most offensive since it occurs in all levels of the working world. As a nurse who trained in the 1970’s, graduated when Doctors were treated like the God’s they thought they were at the time, over many years – say at least 20, that patriarchal power slowly disappeared when nurses and other staff realized there was a need for equality, a need for respect for the majority of women who were in the hospital workforce. As our education increased, our responsibilities increased (due to doctors deciding they didn’t want to ‘do’ certain procedures, etc.) and thus our voice as a group and individually was more respected until in many areas of a hospital, like Critical Care units, the RN especially was able to work as an equal in such areas. It was a needed and welcome change. As for Kelly, the comments she made when she returned to work were absolutely correct – this was a matter of a lack of respect for her in her job at Life for what over 15 years? Other women in the entertainment world have experienced the lack of being treated equally as men and it’s well known the disparity in salaries exists to today. At a screenwriter’s workshop, I remember Sandy Dennis, director of the movie, My American Cousin, telling us it took her 14 years of pitching to male directors the script. Although it was an excellent one, as the success of the movie proved, she was told over 100 times that as a women she may as well forget the idea of making the movie. She was doggedly determined and succeeded in the face of knowing had she been a man pitching a script, she’d have been treated with appreciation for her talents. She even alluded to the old adage and I suspect the true comment about women needing to ‘be’ on the Director’s couch to land a role. In her case it was for her to have a script accepted as valid and worth investing the dollars into what turned out to be a very, very successful film. So, same goes for Kelly. She needed to make herself heard about this appalling treatment of a host of a long-time show of which SHE is the primary host. The status she has achieved deserves much more then the short-sighted management staff and even Michael offered her and the apologies offered a week later proved she wasn’t wrong in her outrage. So, despite the comment by yourself above, I do disagree and disagree strongly. As a personal note, as a (now retired) former Critical Care RN, I had over 15 years extra education of taking part-time courses, on top of achieving a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing which took me 5 1/2 years as worked full time and took courses each semester by distance education) meant that I had much more education than say a resident doctor training at our hospital. IF at anytime such a resident tried to make me or any other nurse in our unit feel LESS THAN, we were able to RESPECTFULLY point out the extent of our education and experience to that resident and the fact that he, or she, would be advised to realize what they can learn from us. Same for Michael Strahan, he ‘learned’ how to BE a host on Live because of Kelly and thus has now changed jobs for working at GMA in the future full time. So, he did deserve to be more respectful than he was to his mentor. It was not the other way around. That’s all, but I hope this reply gives you pause for thought and gives you more insight, especially if you are a younger woman and have grown up (so far) not very aware of how women have had to work hard for the respect in the workforce which exists today. Read some historical non-fiction about women in the early 1900’s. It may shock you to realize how things were back then for women even just in the entertainment world. Check back if you do the reading and tell me if your opinion doesn’t shift.

They made her look bad.. She fed into it by her not so professional reaction… Now everyone’s scrambling days before her return and she and Strahan will make a big joke out of it c come Tuesday.. Like hee hee so that happened..

ABC management has not improved one bit since they mistakenly cancelled All My Children and One Life to Live. Nobody is looking at the big picture–ever. They just want a quick fix. I predict Michael Strahan will be a complete failure at GMA.

Which is why their daytime lineup has been falling apart.

Yes!

It was so disrespectful to Kelly…she was blindsided & that’s never a good feeling.I’m sure if Michael had his way it would have been done differently.It’s really sad when those in charge stop thinking of their employees as people & just see them as the almighty dollar.

Network executives are among the most venal and stupid creatures on Earth.If the programmers at ABC want to free up an hour in the morning cancel that execrable embarrassment – the View and do the country a favor by taking that polluted, nasty,sick mess off the air.

and get rid of the Chew while you’re at it.

I love the Chew, ratings are up. The show is terrific and it got renewed again.

I hate The Chew–their recipes suck and the loonies which run the show are annoying as heck.

ABC is owned by Disney. They care about movies first, sports, primetime and then their parks. The LAST thing they care about is daytime! What they did to AMC and OLTL is a disgrace! They put actors out of work and screwed over the fans! The only reason they are kissing Kelly’s behind is because there is MONEY to be made on her show. They will keep her and enjoy ALL the press and the ratings will be huge come this September!

Kelly should be looking elsewhere for a new job. That’s what they told amc and oltl cast and crew that they were devoted and committed to the shows. Soon after, they were cancelled. Kelly said she worked for this company for 26 years. She deserved the same respect and consideration. I’m sure erika sleazak and susan Lucci deserved the same respect and consideration after over 40 years of their commitment and professionalism. I’m so glad kelly was given an apology. However to me, this is just another example of why the alphabet network is run by a bunch of liars and can’t withstand another backlash from fans. My advice to kelly ripa: watch out and don’t trust those abc exs. they say they are not cancelling live for another hour of gma but never say never.

I agree with you JP. And you know Susan Lucci was a better actress than Kelly is.

I personally hope she’s the kind to carry a grudge—if it were me, I definitely would.

She seem to be carrying a really huge grudge, She is being a bitch.

Corporations have always disrespected employees. There’s a psychology, a manipulative one, where they call you “family” and impart an “us” mentality. But where they expect an employee to give at least two weeks notice if he or she wants to quit, they give no such notice if they want to fire you. You can be gone from your “family” the same day.

In that same vein, they can move you around the family, make “executive” decisions and don’t feel a need to inform you, until it suits their interests. It’s hierarchal power. Perhaps they thought Kelly would be unhappy with the decision and too much advance notice would dampen their on air rapport. Not agreeing with their methods but no doubt Kelly will act her perky role once again.

I totally agree with all the comments above. After Kelly gave her speech this morning, the first thing that came to mind was Susan Lucci. I don’t have much faith in what Disney says after that debacle. I support Kelly all the way!

I was glad to hear Kelly discuss this today on air. She has been assured that LIVE will be a priority. I took that to mean that it is still an active show, and the rumors about it being done away with are not true. We will have to wait and see. Glad to have the air cleared. And apologies made.

I wonder if this could all be a publicity stunt? Ever since the invention of Photo Shop and social media, I cannot believe much anymore.

Oh, gimme a break already!!!!! The only reason that Disney-ABC ‘apologized’ to Kelly Ripa is because Kelly (and Michael) bring in HUGE RATINGS (or whatever) to ‘Live’. Those idiots at Disney-ABC are fooling N-O O-N-E!!!!!

Unless you have the legal right to know something, don’t be surprised to find something out right along with the general public. The truth is, you’re really not that special (not to the executives anyway), regardless of how long you’ve been at your job. It’s just business (Kelly Ripa, Susan Lucci, and all the other fired soap stars). Stop acting entitled. It’s not very attractive. It just makes you look like a big drama queen.

I have not seen the LIVE show, or anything else on the alphabet network, since the last day One Life to Live aired; but, this situation demonstrates once again that the alphabet network and mouse company are not to be trusted. They have ZERO respect, commitment, concern for their employees or their audience.

Still waiting for ABC/D to apologize for canceling AMC & OLTL!!

I am with you Linda, ABC will never admit there mistake in cancelling AMC & OLTL. I hope ABC choke on it. We lost 2 wonderful soaps, bad Karma is coming for Brian Frons and nobody can replace AMC and OLTL. The replacement shows all failed except the Chew, which is still on.

Too little, too late! They didn’t care about her feelings and did what they wanted – as usual. This is who they are. Dirtbags. And shame on Michael for going along with it!

Of course the executives are going to apologize AFTER the public lashed out at them.

Michael’s last day will be May 13th!

Thank God, Michael was really annoying. He talks like Mike Tyson Lol. Kelly Ripa god bless her, she has a good attitude about this mess. She is a class act and love that she is back on air.

Yeah I can’t wait til he is gone!

Doesn’t that seem appropriate? LOL!

Understandably, she thought they were going to eventually pull the plug on the show. They should have had the decency to talk to her about this decision, and assure her that the show would go on. Yes, it brings up the issue about respect and communication in workplaces. These are people’s lives and livelihoods – workplaces should be held accountable to treat people with dignity and respect.

I agree with Andy Cohen when he said ” So I can’t get over that he left Live! where he was co-hosting Live! With Kelly and Michael. Your Name Is in the Freakin’ Title! He left and went to GMA. He is now one of five people sitting at that crowded anchor desk. What happens if the ratings don’t go up?” I wonder if ABC pressured MS? IMO … Those suits are clueless?

That’s what I kept thinking too. Not to mention, MORE work. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has to go on location. Not a good move when you already have a short, steady, and LUCRATIVE job. But what do I know?

Why would Michael leave a show where he is 1 of 2 co-hosts that has his name in the title – for a show that has so many anchors?

Maybe there are going to be changes in “Live”. Management did not let the fans in on cancelling All My Children and One Life to Live. Just saying…

At this point, I don’t care. Too many other important issues going on for me to worry about it.

Wonder if she got any perks or money with the apology.

My theory that this is a PUBLICITY STUNT is building. That entertainment show with that guy that used to be on The Tonight Show as Ross the Intern showed a photo of Kelly Ripa coming out of her home with Anderson Cooper’s book in her hands and they made a point to mention that you could clearly see his face on the book. They also say that he is in the lead to be her new cohost.

I am not much of a conspiracy theorist but this really has publicity stunt written all over it.

Hmmmm … interesting thought Chrystie. Somethings that wouldn’t jive with that is 1) I would think that this would be a step down for Anderson Cooper unless he would do both shows (AC360 & Live)? I am not in the entertainment industry – so I could be wrong? 2) Kelly sure seemed pretty upset Tuesday. The ABC suits did the same thing to her when Regis left.
I agree that out of respect for her 26 years with the company and the fact that she is the only other co-host and the primary co-host, the professional thing to do was to give her a little notice. It looks like MS was doing what he was told.

I cannot believe that the top guns at ABC would do such a stupid thing as not to tell Kelly and Gelman about Michael Strahan leaving. What a mess for Michael to be left with! Unbelievable how ABC operates!

Isabelle Mckay

All My Children

Carol Burnett Talks About Being a Superfan of ‘All My Children’ on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’

In a heartfelt reunion, of sorts, the one and only Carol Burnett appeared on Monday March 25th episode of Live with Kelly and Mark.

Burnett had first met Kelly Ripa (Hayley) and Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo) back when they all appeared on All My Children together. Carol played Verla Grubbs first in 1983 and then again in the 90’s.

Host Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, AMC) noted to Burnett that “we go back a long time”. She also described Burnett’s character of Verla Grubbs, “extraordinary in every way.”

Carol’s love for All My Children is well-documented, hence legendary soap creator, Agnes Nixon, created the role of Verla for Burnett.

Photo: ABC

Speaking on how her passion for All My Children began, Carol told Kelly and Mark, “It started with my kids. They would watch at noon. I said, ‘What are you guys doing?’ I sat down and I started to watch and I got hooked!”

When Carol’s family decided to travel through Europe during one summer, the comedic legend recalled thinking, “How am I going to last if I don’t know what’s going on in Pine Valley?” She revealed she had a friend, “who sent me a telegram to the (different hotels) on Fridays to bring me up to date.”

Photo: ABC

In a hilarious moment from the segment, Carol recalled receiving a late night telegram while in Lake Cuomo when there was a knock at her hotel room door from the hotel manager who was shaking.

Carol related what it said, “Erica is still in a coma. Mark slipped again and ran away from rehab.” As Kelly and Mark broke into laughter, Burnett continued, “Chuck has learned that Donna is carrying his baby, who was once a hooker.”

Check out Carol explaining how she became an AMC Superfan below.

Now, let us know, did you enjoy Carol as Verla Grubbs? What show do you consider yourself a Superfan of? Tell us in the comment section.

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All My Children

Malachy McCourt, ‘Ryan’s Hope’ and ‘All My Children’ Actor, Dead at 92

If you watched Ryan’s Hope through its 14-year-run, you know that Kevin the bartender became a beloved “member’ of the Ryan clan on the defunct ABC daytime drama series. The character of Kevin MacGuiness became so loved by the fans because of the actor who portrayed him, Malachy McCourt.

Sadly, according to his wife Diana McCourt to The New York Times, Malachy passed away on Monday from a heart condition and battling cancer. The actor was 92-years-old.

Playing Kevin on Ryan’s Hope was not much of a stretch for McCourt, because in his lifetime, he was the owner of 1950s Irish pub Malachy’s on Third Avenue in Manhattan. Known as one of the city’s great story-tellers, patrons from longshoremen to the actor Richard Harris would stop in and talk all things Irish with . On Ryan’s Hope, Kevin was best friends to “Ryan’s Bar” owner, Johnny Ryan (Bernie Barrow) and he tried to keep Delia (Ilene Kristen) on the straight and narrow.

Photo: ABC

In his soap opera career, McCourt also was widely-known for his role of Father Clarence McCourt on All My Children especially come Christmastime. Was Clarence, actually St. Nick? That was always the proverbial question. McCourt also appeared on the New York soaps: One Life To Live, Search For Tomorrow and Another World. Other roles included: Devil’s Own, Brewster’s Millions, The Molly Maguires, and Starman, to name 

Later in 2006, Malachy ran for governor of the state of New York as a Green Party candidate. He tackled social issues of the time including being an advocate for gay and lesbian groups to march in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Photo: ABC

McCourt’s childhood was recounted within his brother Frank McCourt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela’s Ashes, which detailed their mother’s attempt to raise the four of their surviving seven children in poverty in Limerick, Ireland. Later, Malachy wrote his own memoirs: 1998’s Monk Swimming, and 2000’s Singing My Him Song.

Malachy is survived by his aforementioned wife, Diana, daughter Siobhan McCourt; sons Malachy Jr., Conor and Cormac; stepdaughter Nina Galin; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Share you remembrances and condolences for Malachy McCourt via the comment section, but first check out this scene from a 1983 episode of “Ryan’s Hope” featuring the late actor with Ilene Kristen.

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All My Children

‘Live with Kelly and Mark’s’ Annual ‘After the Oscars’ Show Brings Backstage Interviews, Fashion Review and Red Carpet Arrivals from Movie’s Biggest Night

Monday morning, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos took to the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for the talk show’s annual Oscar post show.

However, this time it would be Consuelos’ first time as the co-host of ‘Live’ for an Oscars episode. Mark took over the gig from Ryan Seacrest to team with his wife back in April of 2023 and since then the show has seen a ratings spike hitting several all-time highs.

The After the Oscars show opened with a tribute to the movies were the former All My Children stars took on iconic roles from: Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct to Barbie and Ken in Barbie, to the Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller role’s in the romantic comedy Something About Mary and more.

Courtesy/DisneyABC

During After the Oscars, Kelly and Mark were shown in clips backstage as the first stop for the newly-anointed Academy Award winners including: Finneas and Billie Eilish and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The Bachelor host, Jesse Palmer was the talk show’s guest correspondent who spoke to the nominees, and celebrities as they were entering the Dolby Theatre on Sunday night.

Singer Andy Grammar took to the stage and performed on Live’s  After the Oscars show as well, and Project Runaway’s Elaine Welteroth shared her thoughts on the night’s Oscar fashion.

You can watch the full ‘Live with Kelly and Mark After the Oscars’ show below, plus the full movie parody below that. Now let us know, what do you think of Kelly and Mark’s first post-Oscar show together on ‘Live’? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

 

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