Kelly Ripa Reveals What Really Happened Between Her And Michael Strahan On ‘Live!’

Kelly Ripa is giving her side of the story regarding the drama that surrounded Michael Strahan’s Live! with Kelly and Michael departure in a candid new interview.

Speaking out about Michael’s exit for the first time since she delivered a lengthy monologue on the show on April 26, Ripa is now admitting that she didn’t feel she was treated with respect or dignity by network executives when dealing with Strahan’s departure.

“I think that all people are deserving of fair treatment in the work place. People deserve respect,” Ripa admitted to People in a new interview. “People should be treated equally and with dignity.”

While Kelly did not explicitly refer to Michael Strahan in the new interview, published by People on May 11, Ripa did admit that she doesn’t think any of her co-workers are “monsters” after leaving her out of the loop regarding Strahan’s surprising departure, but admitted that they may have mistaken her as being “passive.”

“I’m not dealing with monsters. I don’t think of anybody as a monster or out to get me,” Kelly said, “but sometimes stability and dependability can be misinterpreted as passive. Like, ‘Oh, we don’t have to worry about her, she’s fine. She’s fine.'”

Kelly also spoke out about ABC’s decision to not tell her of Strahan’s plans to leave the show until just minutes before the news broke, where Ripa admitted there’s a part of her that believes the network’s decision not to give her a heads up could have been nothing more than an oversight.

“There’s a part of me that can say, ‘Okay, I understand. This may have been an oversight,'” Kelly told People this week, admitting that she’s been with the alphabet network so long that she believes the network’s executives may just have gotten too comfortable around her to continue such formalities.

“After 26 years, at this point we are like a family,” Ripa said. “And sometimes when you are so comfortable with somebody, you may not give them the same consideration as somebody you’re not as comfortable with – a certain formality falls away.”

“I think that requires a certain amount of empathy on a level,” Kelly Ripa continued in the candid new interview. “When you’re dealing with big business, it’s easy to forget that you’re dealing with people and that people have feelings. It’s easy to just look at it like a business unit, a unit, a unit.”

Kelly Ripa then confirmed in the interview that she is “fine” following the drama that’s surrounded the morning show for the past few weeks, but admitted that’s she needs “assurances that we’re all going to be fine.”

Ripa’s new interview with People marks the first time the long-time Live! with Kelly and Michael co-host has spoken out about the drama that surrounded Michael Strahan’s departure from the show since she cleared the air surrounding the issue during the April 26 episode of the morning show.

Speaking out after taking a week away from the series following the news, Kelly began by telling viewers that her and Michael’s “long national nightmare is over.”

Ripa then discussed the concept of respect in the workplace in the lengthy statement, admitting that the drama surrounding the show “started a much greater conversation about communication, consideration and respect in the workplace.”

“I don’t consider this just a workplace. This is my second home. This is a place I’ve devoted myself to, not just because of you, our loyal viewers, but because of all the producers and the crew who work on this show… We are family,” Kelly continued according to Hollywood Life.

Kelly Ripa then admitted that “apologies have been made” after she was left out of the loop regarding Strahan’s departure and claimed that Disney, ABC’s parent company, had “assured [her] that [Live! with Kelly and Michael] is a priority.”

What do you think of Kelly Ripa’s latest confessions about Michael Strahan’s Live! with Kelly and Michael departure?

[Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images]