The “Daily Show” contributor debuted a new “Back in Black” segment on Wednesday night, and ripped Strahan for his abrupt exit from the ABC morning show.
“How dare you leave Kelly?” Black said. “Watching you two playfully banter is the only thing that gets me up in the morning. Who the hell else is going to teach me to make muffin pan meatloaf?!”
Black also said he would take on Strahan in a fight — if Strahan were the size of Regis Philbin. “This is the worst thing a former football star has ever done to a blonde woman,” he said.
But Black offered up a solution to the controversy. He wants to join “Live” to serve as co-host alongside Ripa. He played an audition tape of “Live” segments with himself digitally inserted. Let’s hope Black doesn’t quit his current job.
Ripa skipped the show following the fallout from last week’s decision to move co-host Strahan to “Good Morning America.” She was widely reported to be furious with the way the situation was handled by executives at ABC, where she has worked both on the soap “All My Children” and “Live.”
“I needed a couple of days to gather my thoughts. After 26 years with this company I earned the right,” Ripa said upon her return before joking that members of the studio audience probably called in sick to attend the show.
The End of 'Live With Kelly and Michael': A Timeline (Photos)
There's been a lot of drama at ABC over the departure of Michael Strahan from "Live with Kelly and Michael" and the search for a replacement. Kelly Ripa has been part of the network for nearly three decades.
Kelly Ripa has been a part of the ABC morning talk show block for 15 years, replacing Kathie Lee Gifford as Regis Philbin's co-host on "Live!" in February 2001.
ABC
After Philbin ended his 28-year run on the show, former NFL star Michael Strahan was picked to join Ripa on "Live!" in September 2012.
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In their nearly four-year run together, Michael & Kelly raised the show's ratings by 8 percent compared to the last four seasons of "Live With Regis and Kelly."
ABC
On April 19, it was revealed without Ripa's prior knowledge that Strahan would leave "Live!" this summer to join "Good Morning America" as co-anchor. Strahan had been appearing on "GMA" twice a week since 2014.
ABC
A source told TheWrap there had been friction between Ripa and the rest of the "Live!" team. "Kelly has been very moody and emotional the past couple of years and Strahan was dreading going to work," the source said.
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Strahan formally announced his departure from "Live!" on air April 20, but Ripa did not host the episode. A spokesperson for the show did not elaborate on the reasons for Ripa's no-show.
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Over the weekend, Ripa reportedly spoke with Strahan and ABC president Ben Sherwood, who apologized for not telling Ripa about the "GMA" move sooner.
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On April 26, Ripa returned to "Live!" for the first time since Strahan's announcement and thanked the show's fans for their support. "Our national nightmare is over," she joked.
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ABC also announced that Strahan's final "Live!" episode would be moved up from September to May to take advantage of "sweeps" week.
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On May 13, Strahan said farewell to "Live!" "I am happy. I am not six feet under," he said. "Six feet, five inches above the ground. So I'm happy. It's another day."
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Michael Strahan’s transition from Kelly Ripa’s co-host to ”Good Morning America“ co-anchor has been sudden and turbulent
There's been a lot of drama at ABC over the departure of Michael Strahan from "Live with Kelly and Michael" and the search for a replacement. Kelly Ripa has been part of the network for nearly three decades.