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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!!

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!

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?

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?

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.

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