Nothing like waking up to a talk show scandal. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most shocking controversies involving daytime talk shows and the personalities known for them.
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00:00 "Are you feeling okay to do this? Are you feeling strong enough to do this interview?"
00:03 "Yeah, I have to."
00:04 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the most shocking controversies involving daytime talk shows and the personalities known for them.
00:13 "Meanwhile, executives at ABC News were said to be holding high-level meetings about how to deal with the juicy rumors."
00:20 Number 10. Kelly and Michael Feud, live.
00:23 Live featured one of daytime's most dynamic duos until 2011, when Regis Philbin left after 23 years with some form of the show.
00:31 NFL star turned media personality Michael Strahan was a surprisingly worthy successor.
00:36 "Ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! I hope my pants slip. I hope my pants slip."
00:42 Unfortunately, behind his and Kelly Ripa's snappy banter, the co-hosts reportedly clashed.
00:47 It all boiled over in 2016, after Ripa learned at the last minute that Strahan would be leaving to co-host Good Morning America.
00:54 This lack of transparency didn't sit well with her.
00:57 "It started a much greater conversation about communication and consideration, and most importantly, respect in the workplace."
01:08 Now, Strahan enjoys an ideal fit on and beyond GMA.
01:12 Meanwhile, after live's hit run with Ryan Seacrest, Ripa has found her perfect partner and husband, Mark Consuelos.
01:18 "Joining me today, and permanently, until one of us dies, is Mark Consuelos."
01:25 Number 9. Halloween costumes.
01:27 Megyn Kelly today.
01:29 Fox News alumnus Megyn Kelly became an unlikely figure for social justice after revealing her old workplace's culture of harassment.
01:37 She was an even less likely talk show figure for NBC.
01:40 "I have to give you a fair warning, I'm a little fired up over Halloween costumes this morning. I mean, truly, political correctness has gone amok."
01:47 Megyn Kelly today never gained much of an audience, with its hosting style often being labeled as "awkward."
01:53 The show was essentially finished off by a 2018 panel discussion regarding inappropriate costumes going into Halloween season.
02:00 When the issue of blackface came up, Kelly suggested that the criticism of the historically racist practice was fairly new.
02:06 "But what is racist? Because, truly, you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween, or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween.
02:15 Like, back when I was a kid, that was okay as long as you were dressing up as like a character."
02:20 Her comments, and general flippancy on the matter, sparked an uproar.
02:23 Megyn Kelly today got widespread attention, but it was for all the wrong reasons.
02:28 Though the host apologized, her show ultimately didn't make it to Halloween.
02:32 "Sometimes I talk, and sometimes I listen. And yesterday, I learned."
02:36 Steve Harvey's snarky nice guy image did well on his namesake talk show, but it took a hit in 2017 with a leaked staff memo.
02:47 "Kind of opens up the curtain and shows you what may be going on behind the scenes with the staff."
02:51 In it, Harvey assertively demanded that nobody speak to him unless spoken to while he was getting his makeup done.
02:57 He also prohibited staffers from entering his dressing room uninvited.
03:01 He claimed he was just trying to maintain his privacy.
03:04 Still, many felt the tone was out of the comedian's character.
03:07 Shortly after the leak, Harvey relocated his Chicago talk show to LA, launching a new program titled Steve.
03:14 This was reportedly a pre-planned move, and not linked to the memo.
03:18 "I didn't know I was in trouble until I woke up one morning and it was on CNN."
03:22 Not every conversation on the talk has been civil.
03:30 Sharon Osbourne was often particularly polarizing for her candor, which eventually caught up with her.
03:35 "Because I supported my friend with his freedom of speech and his opinions."
03:41 In 2021, Piers Morgan resigned from Good Morning Britain after criticizing Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.
03:48 As a close friend of Morgan's, Osbourne defended him from co-host Cheryl Underwood's allegations of racism.
03:54 "I'm sorry if I say that, listen, he's my friend, he's entitled to his opinion, and if he thinks Meghan is a...
04:01 whatever he says about her, I don't agree with what he says, but I agree with his right to say what he feels."
04:08 Her words and the way the conversation played out didn't sit right with many, as the debate quickly escalated into a disturbing argument.
04:15 The ensuing controversy prompted the talk to go on hiatus, pending an investigation into Osbourne's conduct on the set.
04:22 She ultimately left the series, reportedly of her own accord.
04:26 The views expressed on The View don't always go over with the co-hosts, let alone the audience.
04:46 "Missing the point, you're missing the point. The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this alley.
04:52 Let's talk about it for what it is, it's how people treat each other."
04:56 The show's scandals stretch way before Whoopi Goldberg's 2022 suspension over downplaying racism in the Holocaust.
05:02 But staunch conservative Elizabeth Hasselbeck has probably been the most controversial for her feuds with her left-leaning colleagues.
05:09 Things got particularly bad in 2007, when Rosie O'Donnell weighed in on Hasselbeck and Joy Behar's argument about President Bush and the war in Iraq.
05:18 This led to a screaming match that has gone down in infamy.
05:35 The incident prompted O'Donnell to quit the show, though she'd temporarily return a few years later, after Hasselbeck was already working at Fox.
05:42 In 2016, Billy Bush joined the Today team at a turbulent time for journalists.
05:56 He had only been a co-host since May, when he found himself involved in an October surprise against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
06:05 "Go ahead, work on it."
06:07 Resurfaced audio of Access Hollywood's 2005 interview with the businessman featured Bush laughing at Trump's lewd comments about women.
06:15 Bush even joined in at one point.
06:17 "Come on, shorty."
06:18 "Oh, nice legs, huh?"
06:20 "Oof, get out of the way, hon."
06:21 "That's good legs."
06:22 Today ultimately parted ways with their new co-host, following a suspension.
06:27 Trump may have taken the brunt of the scandal, despite ultimately winning the election, but Today also faced criticism since Bush was employed there.
06:35 The latter kept a relatively low profile afterwards, until he landed on Extra in 2019.
06:40 Still, his career remains branded by that unsettling 2005 interview.
06:45 "Achievable goals, Bill."
06:46 "Good luck with yours, and if you fail, remember we've all been through a lot."
06:55 Jamie Robach and TJ Holmes had been good friends for some time, but fans didn't fully realize the extent of their chemistry until 2022.
07:03 "The GMA3 co-anchors are allegedly having an affair. Both are married, and they've reportedly left their spouses to be with each other."
07:12 Toward the end of the year, it was confirmed that they were romantically involved after the Daily Mail published a series of photos of them together.
07:19 Despite their respective separations, they were both technically married.
07:23 "Extramarital's not the thing I have a problem with, because if they had a conversation with their partners, this was all on the level, everyone knew what was going on.
07:31 That's very different. It's the affair part. It's the lying, the hiding."
07:35 GMA apparently didn't consider this relationship much of a workplace problem from a policy perspective at first.
07:41 But that changed as tabloids and public fallout increased, and Holmes and Robach were fired in January of 2023.
07:48 We'd also learn that Holmes previously had other extramarital affairs with unidentified colleagues over the years.
07:55 "The speculation is that the exit is happening due to a breach of the moral clause that is within all ABC staffers' contract."
08:06 Ellen DeGeneres carefully cultivated an image as the Queen of Nice throughout her massively popular talk shows run.
08:17 But it all began to unravel in 2020, when comedian Kevin T. Porter called her out as one of the "meanest people alive."
08:25 From Porter's Twitter thread to formal allegations, fans and colleagues recounted DeGeneres' alleged narcissism and hostility.
08:33 These included allegations of racism and misconduct by executive producers on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
08:39 "Ellen took credit or took the blame for all the things that went down, but also made it seem like she didn't know about any of it."
08:45 Suddenly, DeGeneres' crude jokes and seemingly insincere gestures became scrutinized.
08:51 Following staff changes and an internal investigation, the show resumed.
08:56 However, DeGeneres ultimately decided to end it in 2022, after almost two decades on the air.
09:14 For 21 years, audiences welcomed Philip Schofield as the host of ITV's "This Morning."
09:20 But the trust was broken after he and the program parted ways in 2023.
09:24 He soon confirmed rumors that he had had an affair with a much younger staffer, while he and wife Stephanie Lowe were still together.
09:39 It was further revealed that Schofield helped the man get a job at ITV.
09:44 "The reason this matters is because it is about potential abuse of power."
09:48 "I understand that, and that is a very, very valid question to put to me."
09:53 Suddenly, everything came under scrutiny and was re-examined.
09:57 From Schofield's motivations for coming out publicly, to an alleged feud with co-host Holly Willoughby.
10:03 The veteran media personality's career quickly collapsed under the weight of these and other scandals.
10:08 "Is this the tip of the iceberg? Are there more allegations or revelations to come, or as far as you're concerned, is it all out?"
10:14 "It's my biggest, sorriest secret."
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10:36 Matt Lauer was one of the most distinguished figures on American daytime TV.
10:41 He was known for regularly cutting through the fluff for serious interviews in his 20 years with Today.
10:46 However, disturbing allegations surfaced in 2017 as the #MeToo movement was gaining traction.
10:52 He was promptly fired after an unidentified colleague accused him of sexual misconduct.
10:57 "It is the first complaint about his behavior in the over 20 years he has been at NBC News."
11:02 "We were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident."
11:07 From there, several women came forward to accuse him of abuse and outright assault.
11:12 It's since been said that Lauer has had a long history of inappropriate behavior with women.
11:17 "Lauer had a button under his desk that would automatically lock his office door."
11:21 "Variety adding, 'Several women complained to executives at the network about Lauer's behavior, which they say fell on deaf ears.'"
11:28 NBC's alleged suppression of the Harvey Weinstein story to protect Lauer beforehand, meanwhile, is noted as being part of a systemic problem.
11:36 Since his termination from Today, Lauer has kept a relatively low profile.
11:41 "If you've wondered whether you'll see him on TV again, the magazine reports he doesn't sit around thinking about a comeback."
11:47 Which of these scandals disturbed you the most? Sit down and share in the comments.
11:51 "He said nothing and that's cowardly."
11:53 "No, no, no. No, no, no. That is not. Do not."
11:56 [MUSIC]