Michael Strahan Was Afraid Of 'Speaking Up' As A Black Man On Live! With Kelly

The death of George Floyd has brought about an unprecedented cultural reckoning over race and discrimination.

These things are being re-examined in all sorts of businesses, relationships, and other aspects of life, and the television industry is no exception. Following weeks of civil unrest and Black Lives Matter protests, Bob Iger hosted a town hall for Disney and ABC regarding racism within the media conglomerate.

There, former Live! With Kelly and current Good Morning America host Michael Strahan shared some of his experiences at the company — some of which he may never have felt comfortable divulging in the past. A source for Page Six revealed:

“Michael said that there were some very tense situations with executives who got argumentative and loud on the show, and he was very aware he couldn’t speak up or raise his voice as he was worried he would be seen as threatening.”

Insiders for Page Six explained that though Strahan didn’t mention Live specifically, his comments were directed at his time on that program. However, a source for E! News maintained that he was “talking about his experience at ABC as a whole.”

The former NFL player did tell the New York Times earlier this year that “certain things that were going on behind the scenes” had led to tension between himself and co-host Kelly Ripa. He explained:

“I don’t want to be on the show and feel like everyone else is carrying me. I want us all to be successful. I’ve done things where I went in with team concepts, and I got there and realized it’s not about team. It’s selfish, and I don’t operate well under that. … In sports, you can put as many great players as you want on a team, but if one guy out there is worried about himself, it will not work. Then on television, I’ve had jobs where I got there and felt like: ‘Wow, I didn’t know I was supposed to be a sidekick. I thought I was coming here to be a partner.'”

The town hall on race comes just one week after allegations were brought against ABC News exec Barbara Fedida. A Huffington Post report claimed Fedida had made offensive comments about Black talent at the network, including Sunny Hostin, Robin Roberts, Kendis Gibson, and Mara Schiavocampo.

Hostin addressed the allegations on The View, saying she was “disappointed and sad and hurt” by the report and that “no one is immune” to systemic racism. Hopefully, big corporations use this moment to really take action against these systemic problems. We need to see real change, not just lip service at company town halls!

[Image via WENN/Instar]