KELLY Ripa has come under fire for misleading fans into believing she was in hosting her morning show live from New York, when she was in fact in the Caribbean.
The TV host has been fronting Live With Kelly and Ryan from a bedroom for the last few months, with many under the impression she was using a spare room during the coronavirus pandemic that has seen New York become the hardest-hit state in the country.
However, after Kelly told a virtual town hall last week that she was in fact in the Caribbean, viewers took to social media to share their upset at being lied to.
For many, it was the deception that hurt, not the fact that Kelly had decided to remain on a tropical island miles away from the devastation that has wrecked New York.
One fan shared on Twitter: I love you Kelly but I really think not disclosing where you were during all of this was a mis-step.
“Your loyal viewers assumed you were in NYC and felt for you being in the hardest hit state. It was just deceiving on your part.”
Another added: “She has been giving the impression that she and her family have been in NYC this entire time. Just be honest and not lie by omission.
“If you’re able to leave to be safer, that’s a good thing…I would do the same thing if I could. The cover-up and explaining is worse.”
One viewer admitted that felt “lied to”, tweeting: “I have always loved @LiveKellyRyan and @KellyRipa but feel a little lied to for the past 3 months thinking she was in NYC but it turns out she is in the Caribbean? I know it’s her business on what she does, but why not be honest from the beginning?”
Kelly revealed her whereabouts during a meeting with ABC staff last Thursday.
According to a source who was on the meeting, Kelly told colleagues that the entire family including her parents had planned the getaway, and they left three days before New York went into lockdown.
She said: “I hate to use the word stuck, but we were. We decided to stay where we were.”
She went on to claim that it was supposed to be a two-week vacation but “Ryan and I both decided it was better to do the show, because we just felt like in with everything that was going on in the world that perhaps, some normalcy of just doing what we normally do, even though it was like in very unusual circumstances, would be the best thing for us.”
