9 Times Kelly Ripa Dissed Michael Strahan Since the News of His Live! Exit

She's not afraid to throw a little shade

By Kendall Fisher Jun 01, 2016 8:27 PMTags
Live With Kelly and Michael, Kelly Ripa, Michael StrahanDavid M. Russell, Disney/ABC Home Entertainment and TV Distribution

After Michael Strahan announced he would be leaving Live! With Kelly and Michael in April, Kelly Ripa hasn't been afraid to express her distaste for the decision.

Not only did she she make it a point to send some subliminal messages in the weeks leading up to his departure, she also hasn't been shy to hold back sly remarks regarding her former co-host. In fact, when Anderson Cooper—who has been rumored to be a top contender in filling Michael's seat—joined her on the show Wednesday, she even went as far as calling him the "most gracious host."

And that's only the most recent jab. From mentions of Michael's divorce to praise for current co-hosts, comments about his replacements to just plain awkward tension, the blond has proved time and time again that she wasn't going to let this situation down easy.

Here are 9 times Kelly has dissed Michael since the news of his exit:

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1. Kelly's Return: After taking a break for a few days immediately following Michael's announcement, Kelly returned and made it clear that his decision to leave was not communicated properly to her. "In a sense that it started a greater conversation about communication, consideration and, most importantly, respect in workplace," she explained. "And since we're being honest, I don't consider this just a workplace, this is my second home. This is a place that I devoted myself to, not just because of you our loyal viewers, but because of all of the producers and the crew who work on this show. We have an incredible team and we are devoted to one another. We are family."

2. The Hairy Armadillo: During a segment with wildlife expert Peter Gros on April 28, Michael and Kelly met a hairy armadillo who accidentally projected something into the blonde's mouth as a means of protecting himself from the "predator." The 45-year-old blonde couldn't help but quip, "I want to take him into contract negotiations with me!" Michael's response was uncomfortable, to say the least.

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3. Divorce Digs: Kelly not only mentioned Michael's divorces—which he's made a point to stay silent about—once but twice in the weeks leading up to his departure. On April 29, while mentioned an article in the paper, she said, "I want to get your take on it because I don't have a take on it. But I want yours. So you've gotten divorced." 

On the show before that (April 28), she mentioned it again, joking that a pet psychic led to his divorce.

4. Major Side-Eye: While this wasn't necessarily a comment Kelly made out of her mouth, her actions spoke much louder than words. After revealing the date of Michael's final show, the crowd began booing the former football player, and Kelly simply sat there in awkward silence, giving him some major side-eye (see the 21:44 mark).

5. The Journalism Graduate: During the May 12 show (the day before Michael's departure), the pair noticed a member in the audience wearing a cap and gown.The graduate explained that she got her degree in Journalism and Media Studies, to which Kelly responded, "Perfect! Just in the nick of time!"

Michael couldn't help but look down, smile and shake his head. "Don't let this show scare you away from your dreams," he said, before Kelly added, "Don't be afraid. It's fine. You can still go into journalism and do this. I promise."

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for GQ

6. Kelly's Speaks Out: During an interview with People magazine following Michael's departure, Kelly explained why his decision to leave affected more than just her. "I think that requires a certain amount of empathy on a level. When you're dealing with big business, it's easy to forget that you're dealing with people and that people have feelings," Ripa said at the time. "It's easy to just look at it like a business unit, a unit, a unit."

Randy Holmes/ABC via Getty Image

7. Jimmy Kimmel's Sly Jokes: Jimmy Kimmel was the first person to co-host with Kelly following Michael's exit. During their introduction he asked Kelly several questions regarding the departure, and she wasn't shy to laugh about it. In fact, when Kimmel asked what would happen to all the photos of Michael in the hallway, Kelly said they would eventually be taken down, but they just hadn't "gotten around to it yet."

8. Ways With the Audience: During the introduction of the show that Fred Savage co-hosted with Kelly on May 23, he couldn't help but gush about how amazing their fans are. Kelly quipped, "Look at how fast he's learning to manipulate an audience," which definitely seemed like a dig thrown at Michael's abilities to win over their fans for four years.

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9. No More Sagittariuses on the Show: Anderson Cooper joined Kelly on the June 1 show and the pair got to chatting about how his birthday is on June 3 and her son's birthday is June 2 (Andy Cohen's birthday is also June 2). Kelly commented, "Most good people that I know are Geminis, that's all I'm going to say." which only a few members of the audience clapped over. She quickly added, "Listen to all the non-Geminis being unsupportive. They're like, 'Oh well, I'm a Sagittarius and I think I'm pretty good.'"

Interestingly enough Michael is a Sagitarrius.

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