Michael Strahan made waves in 2016 when he suddenly announced his departure from "Live With Kelly" — then called "Live with Kelly and Michael." And now, he's explaining how the switch from the ABC show to "Good Morning America" came to be.
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In a profile for The New York Times, the retired football player said the career shift wasn't much of a choice.
“I didn’t wake up and say, 'I want a job at GMA.' I was asked to do it by the people who run the network,” he said.
“It was really not a choice. It was a request. But it was treated as if I was the guy who walked in and said, 'I’m leaving.' That part was totally misconstrued, mishandled in every way."
Strahan said the change “could have been handled better.” He said that although those who “should have handled it better have all apologized,” it was too little, too late.
“A lot of the damage had already been done,” he said.
Strahan also reflected on the differences between his TV career and his life as a New York Giants defensive lineman. But he said selfishness can play a role in both arenas.
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“In sports, you can put as many great players as you want on a team, but if one guy out there is worried about himself, it will not work,” he said. “Then on television, I’ve had jobs where I got there and felt like: Wow, I didn’t know I was supposed to be a sidekick. I thought I was coming here to be a partner.”
When asked to clarify if his latter remarks referred to his time on “Live,” Strahan said with a laugh, “It was an experience!”
Despite his experience and tensions between him and Ripa, the ex-athlete, who also serves as an analyst on “Fox NFL Sunday,” said before his last day on “Live,” he tried to “have a meeting every few weeks with her. We met a few times, and that was fine. But then eventually she said she didn’t need to meet. Can’t force somebody to do something they don’t want to do.”
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Still, Strahan sung Ripa’s praises and applauded her for the lessons she’s instilled in him about being in front of the camera.
“You learn how to craft a story. ‘What did you do last night?’ ‘Oh, I had a glass of water.’ But you learn to tell the story to make it seem like the most interesting glass of water,” he said. “Those are things that I learned from her. She’s brilliant in that way. If people think, Oh, he hates her — I don’t hate her. I do respect her for what she can do at her job. I cannot say enough about how good she is at her job.”
Ripa has yet to publicly respond to Strahan’s remarks.
