Kelly's bad blood with Michael Strahan, ‘GMA' host as well as Kelly's former co-host on 'Live', reportedly led her to force Ryan to cancel his 'GMA' appearance with 'American Idol' co-stars.
- Oct 5, 2017
AceShowbiz - It was said that Ryan Seacrest skipped a "Good Morning America" appearance with "American Idol" co-stars over scheduling. However, a new report suggested that the radio personality made the decision at the very last minute since his "Live" co-host Kelly Ripa threw a tantrum over it, forcing him to cancel his appearance.
"Ryan was scheduled to be on Wednesday's show well in advance. He's been on the show rundown for a week," a source revealed to Page Six. "Then yesterday, or maybe even as late as last night, Kelly threw a s**t fit and told him he couldn't do 'GMA', so he pulled his appearance."
"It's very clear that Ryan wants to stay on her good side. She's an executive producer on the show, so she has a lot of pull. It's fair to say she has a lot of influence over him. He joined her show. It sounds like she still feels threatened," the source said.
The source added that there's still "bad blood" between Kelly and "GMA" host Michael Strahan, who previously served as Kelly's co-host on "Live" before abruptly exiting to join "GMA". "[Kelly] doesn't want history to repeat itself and Ryan to be lured to 'GMA' too," the source explained. Back in 2016, Kelly sat out "Live" for four weekdays as she felt that she was blindsided by the sudden departure.
Regarding the alleged backstage drama, ABC folks reportedly didn't bat an eye over Kelly's tantrum. According the source, "Kelly isn't going to be reprimanded for this, as diva-like as it is, because it's not worth upsetting her for a three-minute hit with Ryan on 'GMA'. They had the three judges, and the big star Katy Perry, anyway."
Kelly denied the rumors with a rep for her insisting that "the story is absolutely not true." However, the rep declined to give a further comment on it.
Previously, Ryan's rep released a statement saying that he cancelled his appearance due to scheduling issue on "Live". "Ryan had wanted to appear on 'GMA' with the new 'Idol' judges … but with the constant shifting of various schedules, we determined yesterday, along with 'GMA', as well as ABC/Freemantle producers and publicity teams, that his schedule was too tight given his morning commitments with 'Live' and his radio show, along with 'Idol' production commitments … To suggest any other reason for him not participating is completely false or a misunderstanding of the facts," the statement read.
