Fans Furious After Noticing Two Words During Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest's Show
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
It look Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest less than a minute to alienate a good chunk of their viewers on the March 20 show.
It wasn’t Seacrest’s creepy saccharine chuckling or Ripa’s oddly bitter tirade about the coming of spring that did it, either.
It was two words that appeared on the screen as the hosts were being seated after entering with their typical low-key dance moves that indicated that “Live with Kelly and Ryan” was, well, anything but.
The show had been “previously recorded,” according to a notification that flashed on the screen as Seacrest held Ripa’s chair for her.
The fact that they weren’t exactly “Live” was also evidenced by the cheering and applause — which sounded a lot more like the sounds of a handful of studio employees trying doing their best impersonation of an actual audience.
(To his credit, I suspect that’s what Seacrest was giggling about as the noise died down. At least he seemed to have some appreciation for how ridiculous the whole thing was.)
Check it out in the video below.
According to The U.S. Sun, “[e]verything about this Live! show was in-line with their standard daily episodic set-up,” and I’m going to have to take their word for it, not being a devotee of the Ripa / Seacrest oeuvre.
According to The Sun, “Live” has been anything but prior to the March 20 show. The outlet cited “a mix of old and new episodes for two weeks in a row as Kelly was off for vacation,” including a Halloween-themed show bizarrely re-run in August.
Unsurprisingly, the good folks on Twitter had something to say about it. I mean, don’t they always?
Another recorded show with no audience …..
— Nan Agnew (@agnew_nan) March 20, 2023
So nice to watch “Live” with Kelly/Ryan when you only get 2 days out of the week that are really live🤦♀️🤦♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
— Debbie Mink (@dleemink01) March 20, 2023
Is this another pre recorded show??
— judy (@MaccaFan1) March 20, 2023
Woof. You know you’re pushing your audience’s tolerance when they start predicting your grift.
Twitter user John Kwitkoski complained too, but used the opportunity to slip in a backhanded compliment that amounts to the nicest thing I’ve heard anyone say about Seacrest in some time.
Nothing live about this show most days ….the show is over once Ryan leaves …mark and Kelly are a bore
— john kwitkoski (@moose106) March 20, 2023
And finally, Melissa offered a bit of advice.
Take “Live” out of your title!
— Melissa (@MelissaBlueDot) March 20, 2023
I’m not sure how that would work. “With Kelly and Ryan” would probably confuse people, and if they replaced “Live” with some other word, what would it be? “Not Live”? “Prerecorded with Kelly and Ryan” would be accurate, but not very appealing. “Dead With Kelly and Ryan” seems like a non-starter.
But I suppose any of those would at least be more accurate than a “Live” rerun.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
