Kelly Ripa Doesn't Have Fond Memories Of Her Early Days At Live

Despite boundary-breaking titans like Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters smashing through the glass ceiling, it was still a man’s world in early aughts TV. But it wouldn’t be anything without a woman, as Kelly Ripa proved. Still, it was far from smooth sailing, as Ripa’s early days on “Live!” involved a lot of in-your-face sexism. “It was very tough,” Ripa told Variety, claiming she still has “a little PTSD” remaining. “Had I known how difficult it would have been, I don’t know that I would have gone for it. I just think my ignorance in that situation wound up being my blessing and my superpower.”

Ripa said she wasn’t afforded any “paid vacation time or maternity leave or a wardrobe budget.” She said she was forced to use Philbin’s hair and makeup people and had to make do with a janitor’s closet as her office. “It didn’t make a whole lot of sense, especially because there were empty offices that I could have easily occupied,” Ripa explained.

Worse, unlike Philbin, who had his own, she had to stand in line to use the audience bathroom. “As a woman, I stood up and did the job I had to do,” Ripa wrote in “Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories,” her 2022 book. “Playing a character is what all women do, but playing the role on television is the hardest role I’ve ever had.” Thankfully for Ripa, her hard work eventually paid off.

You May Also Like

Killer jailed for 11 years for stabbing innocent man in elevator

Kloud Allen, 24, looked ahead and blinked rapidly he was sentenced in…

Reason behind Travis Kelce’s humiliating public split with Ryan Reynolds reveals true depth of crisis for the Fractured Four

While Ryan Reynolds has been pictured cheering on Travis Kelce from the…

Inquest to probe how Audrey Griffin’s accused killer obtained razor before prison suicide

An inquest into the prison cell suicide of Audrey Griffin’s accused killer…

Police smelled a 'dead body' inside accused murderer's tool box, court hears

A detective immediately smelled a dead body when she opened a large…