We were waiting for this…
On Thursday morning Kelly Ripa finally got confronted in person about her Bachelorette comments.
In case you missed it, on Tuesday’s Live with Kelly and Ryan, cohost Ryan Seacrest revealed season 15 Bachelorette Hannah Brown would be their guest.
Related: Get Your Drama-Filled Bachelorette Premiere Recap HERE!
That sent Kelly into an eye-rolling mini rant in which she called the Bachelor franchise “all creepy” and “gross,” explaining:
“You guys, you know how I feel about the show, it disgusts me. I can’t stand the idea of 25 exceptional women fighting over one ordinary fella, in my opinion. You know how I feel, ladies, we are too special to be arguing over a guy.”
Of course, it grossed her out the other way as well — she made clear The Bachelorette is “just as creepy.”
Obviously Bachelor Nation had some response to the jabs.
https://giphy.com/gifs/kaitlyn-honestly-insulted-3oEdvcJCsteu4fr7Ak
Host Chris Harrison made sure their fans knew exactly what Kelly had said:
“Look out #BachelorNation @KellyRipa is coming after you and your ‘disgusting’ Monday night habit.”
Eesh. That man knows how to work Twitter. Scary.
Meanwhile Mike Fleiss, the creator of The Bachelor, couldn’t help but remind Kelly she was on the SAME NETWORK as their show, tweeting:
“Easy, @KellyRipa … #TheBachelor franchise pays your salary!”
But those were just the amuse-bouche.
The main course was that little television event Ryan had announced in the first place, the guest who got all the talk started in the first place.
On Thursday Hannah B stepped into the lions’ den — well, the Kelly and Ryan’s den — to face the criticism head on!
Kelly broke the ice with a joke about Hannah being free to leave, despite the ABC cross-platform synergy overlords, teasing:
“I’m not sure if they told you backstage, I’m not behind this at all. You seem like a lovely girl. You blink twice, I will get you out of here.”
Hannah just laughed and said she was actually “glad to be here.”
She then told her story of getting surprised with a nomination to be on The Bachelor — she was just minding her business being Miss Alabama USA.
But Kelly wanted to get into the fray, reframing her criticism by saying:
“I am very against women fighting over a guy. I don’t believe in it. I think it’s, you know, weird and sets us back. But then, you are in the power position. So, take me through that. How does that work?”
Hannah was poised and ready to win over a new Bachelor Nation convert. She began:
“Like you, I didn’t really follow the show, wasn’t a big fan.”
Already not buying that. Sorry. Go on.
“But being a part of the show, it’s not women fighting against each other. Really, some of my best friends came from the show and were really supportive. When you have a group of 30 people together, there’s going to be people who don’t like each other. That’s simple facts.”
So it’s not the premise pitting women against each other, that’s just a few bad apples?
We’re not sure Kelly was convinced by that defense.
Hannah continued:
“But, ultimately, it was one of the most empowering things that I ever have done because I had to push myself and grow as an individual. And I did. And I think that’s why I decided that I wanted to be the Bachelorette and wanted that so bad for myself.”
And from there on it was just a totally normal daytime interview, no conflict at all.
Kelly even asked perpetual pro Ryan to take the lead and ask all about Hannah’s dealbreakers and turnoffs.
All in all, this ended up NOT being as awkward or juicy as we’d hoped. Er, feared. Why, what did we say?? LOLz!
[Image via Patricia Schlein/WENN/ABC/YouTube.]
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