‘GMA’ Anchor Michael Strahan Refuses To Cut Short Vacation To Report On Harvey, Leaving ABC Execs ‘Fuming’
Houston native Michael Strahan has been far from the tragedy of Hurricane Harvey. Instead of reporting from the scene of the worst natural disaster in American history, the former New York Giant is enjoying a luxury vacation on a yacht in the Greek Mediterranean, and reportedly, his bosses are livid.
A source told Page Six that ABC executives are “fuming” that the popular anchor will not cut short his luxury vacation on the Mediterranean to return to work.
“ABC News asked Strahan to come home from his vacation. He’s from Houston. But he refused and is still floating around on a yacht in Greece somewhere. ABC is really upset with him.”
The former Live! With Kelly and Michael co-host has been on a yacht, somewhere in Greece, after going on a safari.
Although there has been some unidentified sources at ABC revealing the executives unhappiness with Strahan’s absence, senior executive producer of GMA, Michael Corn, has stated that Michael Strahan has a very important Hurricane Harvey role in the upcoming months.
“I spoke with [Strahan] every day. Michael was very clear he wanted to be part of the coverage, and we decided the best plan was for him to lead the charge covering the recovery.”
In addition to leading the charge on reporting the Houston recovery, the Los Angeles Times has also reported that Strahan, along with Reese Witherspoon, Hillary Duff, Blake Shelton and Jamie Foxx will host a telethon for Hurricane Harvey.
Other anchors were on vacation as the destruction of Hurricane Harvey surged. Good Morning America anchor, Robin Roberts, voluntarily returned early from her vacation. In addition, CNN anchor, Anderson Cooper returned to his show on Wednesday.
Strahan fans know that the Hall of Fame star has been quite serious about his GMA job. He had to be, as he sacrificed earning a lot of money in endorsements when he switched jobs within ABC, and joined the morning news program.
ABC 'upset' with Michael Strahan for vacation amid Hurricane Harvey https://t.co/Vh5hL1z0pl
— Kefing Moore (@AfricanMart) September 3, 2017
As the Inquisitr previously reported, when Strahan left Live! With Kelly and Michael, he walked away from millions in endorsements. Once he joined the GMA staff as an anchor, he was not allowed, per strict policy, to pitch any product endorsements as GMA is a news program. The rules for Live! are not the same.
Speaking of Strahan’s old show, it has had its own drama of late.
Live! With Kelly and Ryan fans may not feel terribly charitable towards all ABC executives at this exact moment. There have been some issues with communications with their talent.
The biggest snafu was in April 2016. Moments before going on air, it was revealed that Strahan was leaving Live! With Kelly and Michael to head over to Good Morning America.
This was news to the shocked Ripa, who felt “stabbed in the back” by the ABC executives. They failed to keep her in the loop when making such a drastic program change. Strahan’s time was shortened on the show and he had an extended summer vacation before he officially joined GMA.
After months of stand-in hosts, they finally added Ryan Seacrest to sit alongside Ripa. Since then, the show ratings have dropped. There has been a lot of obvious tension between the two co-hosts, with reports from the Ripa camp that she is very unhappy.
Just recently, Ripa went on her own summer vacation, and the ABC execs filled in with Kim Kardashian West, one of the reality stars of the Ryan Seacrest-created Keeping Up With The Kardashians. This has added fuel to the rumors that they are going to replace Ripa with the reality star. This has caused an uproar with Ripa’s legions of fans.
What do you think about GMA anchor Michael Strahan not cutting short his Greek vacation? Do you think it is fair that allegedly his ABC bosses want him to return to the show early because he is a Houston native? Please share your opinions below!
[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]
