As Kelly Ripa continues to be absent from LIVE! With Kelly and Michael, rumors surrounding the show keep on swirling.
Michael Strahan announced he would be departing the morning show Tuesday in favor of a permanent time slot on Good Morning America, and since then there have been many questions about his replacement and the fate of the show. Could Ripa's long-running show be canceled in favor of a third hour for GMA, or would Strahan be replaced?
"We are committed to 'Live...', its fantastic production team, and to Kelly Ripa," said a Disney-ABC Television spokesperson in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. "We believe the show has a great future. End of story."
Kelly didn't show up to work Wednesday, so Michael co-hosted with Saturday Night Live alum Ana Gasteyer. CNN's Brian Stelter talked to E! News about the ongoing drama involving Kelly, Michael and the production team and shared what he thought was really going on with her absences.
"She's on strike from her own show. It's a very peculiar situation, but in Hollywood there are ways to get out of work," he explained. "There are illnesses that you can call out for, and they can't prove you're not sick."
ABC said Kelly and her family had already scheduled a vacation that would have her missing Friday-Tuesday. Stelter said the former soap opera star is mostly upset about the way the network handled breaking the news to her.
"This is about basic disrespect. At least Kelly Ripa believing that she's been disrespected by ABC," he explained.
A source previously told E! News that she was "livid" about hearing the news when everyone else did, but Stelter had some ideas about what the network could do to get its star back and remedy the situation. "I can think money is probably part of the equation and a lot of compliments," he said.
At the end of the day, however, there are some real issues arising from the LIVE! shake-up.
"Some of this is about gender roles—about mostly male bosses and a female star and about how women on television are treated," Stelter noted. "I have a feeling some of [Kelly's] female viewers would love to hear her talk about that."
But wherever there is drama, there are #teams.
"People are definitely choosing sides."