ABC TV host Kelly Ripa is addressing her relationship with her former co-host, the late Regis Philbin as well as comments made by Kathy Lee Griffin. Ripa recently released a new book titled, “Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories.”
Ripa was a guest Friday on WABC Radio’s morning show with Sid Rosenberg.
Earlier this month, Griffin told “Good Day New York” that she doesn’t plan to read Ripa’s new memoir. In the book, Ripa said she had a “complicated relationship with Philbin”
“Any of the harsh words I have are more for the executives at the time who sort of forced me down anybody’s throat. “I feel like he (Philbin) earned the right to select his co-host or certainly not have a co-host.”
Ripa said she wants her book to be viewed as a “love letter” of sorts to New York City, New Jersey, her husband, and her career.
“It’s really not a very controversial book, so it didn’t really generate any headlines,” she said. “It’s hard to sell a book and so those headlines generated controversy which ultimately helped me sell a book.”
Ripa called Kathy Lee’s comments a “blessing” to her book sales.
“The only villain in the story is me,” she added. “I am the butt of every joke; I am the person that screws up at work.”
