Kelly Ripa reacts to Kathia Lee Gifford’s comments about her book

Bypassing the drama. Kelly Ripa finally answered the Kathie Lee Giffordcomments she doesn’t plan to read Live Wire out of concern that it would include negative stories about their former co-host, Regis Philbin.

“It’s really hard to sell a book, isn’t it? I [her comments came during] like, the third week of the book [being released],” the He lives with Kelly and Ryan cohost, 52, said Amanda Hirsch on the Tuesday, October 18 episode Dear Media “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast.. “I’m not going to lie, I didn’t read the headlines anywhere [at the time]. And suddenly all these headlines come out and all this attention is on my book. I’m a person who tends to take a negative and turn it into a positive, so my bottom line is [to her] is, ‘Thank you’.”

Ripa added that she thinks “people who read the book” will have a “completely” different take on the chapters that mention the late-morning host, who died in July 2020 at the age of 88.

“You know, if you read, if you dig deep, I’m on his side for most of the chapter,” the former soap star continued. “I’m, like, on his side because … at the time I didn’t have the awareness that this wasn’t a choice for him [to have a new cohost]. I was not a choice for him.”

After all, Ripa thinks the chapter is “ironic.” Live Wire the one that gets the most attention is actually the one where she ponders whether it’s worth it to set the record straight about her relationship with Philbin. “This whole chapter is about correcting records in real time,” she explained. “Do you do that? Should it be done, theoretically? … People who read the book have a very different view of those chapters because they read the book. … And the comments I got on those chapters were extremely positive and people who read the book took a lot of positivity away from it.”

Although it is All my children alum stated that “nobody needs to read every book on Earth,” she seemed to throw shade at the former Today host, 69. “I’m like, the opposite [of her]. I don’t comment on things I don’t know about, so I don’t know [exactly what she said].”

Earlier this month, Gifford made headlines after declaring that she would not read Live Wire. “I was very sorry to see the headlines,” she told Fox 5 Rosanna Scotto October 10. “You know, you never know what is true and what is not true. I said, ‘I hope this isn’t true. I just hope it’s not.’ Because what’s the point? I do not understand. I do not understand.”

Referring to Ripa’s claims that there was a power struggle between her and the deceased Who wants to be a millionaire host, Gifford continued, “I’m not going to read a book. … I just know what Regis was to me, Rosana. For 15 years, he was the best partner I could ever have professionally. But he was my friend. We were dear friends and after I left the show… we became better friends for the next 20 years. Dear friends.”

The TV producer added that she hopes Philbin’s four grown daughters and his widow, Joy Philbin, he wouldn’t need to hear about Ripa’s book. “God, protect Joy and the girls from this,” Gifford said. “In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him [be] unkind to anyone. I never did. I’m just saying that my reality is something completely different from that.”

At the time, an industry insider said Us Weekly that Gifford’s comments only served to draw more attention to the tell-all memoir. “It’s sad but ironic that by commenting on a book she hasn’t read, Kathie Lee will ensure that even more people actually read this number one bestseller,” the source said.