Howard Stern loves stoking the rumor mill — and he seems to like it best when he doesn’t have a lot of information. The big news in entertainment media this week is the move of Live! co-host Michael Strahan to GMA. Strahan leaves behind Kelly Ripa, who is rumored to be angry. (Ripa didn’t do the show the day Strahan announced the move and is still off-air — though not AWOL.) Stern relishes his status as entertainer rather than journalist — that way he can say things like he heard that Ripa doesn’t really like Strahan. And then say he can’t remember where he heard it! That’s Stern stoking the mill alright.
About the tension and controversy — Stern said he “loves” all of it. Stern is a huge Kelly Ripa fan. The King of All Media thinks Ripa got a raw deal and that she’s infuriated, that she got “blindsided” by Disney. Details of Strahan’s new salary weren’t disclosed, but he didn’t leave for less money — that’s not how show biz works. Stern said Ripa had to be making at least $12 million a year or she needs a “new agent.” Ripa signed with CAA’s Bryan Lourd in 2011, along with her husband Mark Consuelos.
