Good Morning America Scandals You Need To Know

By Editorial Staff in Entertainment On 25th October 2016
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#1 Good Morning America

Good Morning America (GMA) is one of the top morning television shows and it debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition in 1993. The show has seen many anchors and hosts come and go, most notably David Hartman, Peter Jennings, and Joan Lunden. The show is broadcast live from Times Square and features news, interviews, weather forecasts, special-interest stories, and feature segments such as "Pop News" and celebrity gossip. But the show itself has had a lot of backstage news over the years with no signs of letting up with the current cast members, Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Lara Spencer, Michael Strahan, Amy Robach, and Ginger Zee.

#2 George Stephanopoulos Donated To The Clintons

The network went bonkers when news anchor George Stephanopoulos admitted on air in 2015 that he had given donations to the Clinton Foundation, totalling over $75,000 since 2011. Sources feared Stephanopoulos would suffer a similar fate as NBC rival Brian Williams, who was suspended by NBC News earlier that year for exaggerating past reporting.

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#3 He Promised To Be Unbiased In His Reporting

Concerned that his reporting would be biased, the anchor was put in the hot seat. Stephanopoulos wound up apologizing twice on airfirst on Good Morning America, then again on his Sunday political program This Weekamid concerns that his reporting would not remain objective. In the end, ABC stuck by him and his fellow reporters and anchors let out a sigh of relief.

#4 Robin Roberts Had A Stalker

Troy Warren, 43, was arrested after showing up to the Good Morning America studios and threatening anchor Robin Roberts with physical harm. Warren reportedly told GMA's security director that Roberts owed him money, saying, "When I see her, I'm going to punch her in the face." According to reports, Warren had visited the studio eight times between June 10 and June 24. He was finally arrested when he attempted to make contact with Roberts in the studio audience.

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#5 Michael Strahan Had An Angry Fan

Just one month before Roberts was threatened, a homeless man dropped by GMA's Times Square studio and threatened to stab talk show host Michael Strahan with a knife. His reason was that he was upset that Strahan left Live! With Kelly & Michael.

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#6 Roberts Came Out Of The Closet Too Late

Her sexuality was a source of tabloid gossip for years but in 2013 Robin Roberts finally came out as gay in a Facebook post where she thanked her partner for her assistance in her time and crisis with myelodysplastic syndrome. She was highly criticized for not coming out sooner but she said her reservations had a lot to do with protecting her girlfriend's privacy.

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#7 Ginger Zee's Husband Irritated DWTS And GMA

Ginger Zee's husband, TV personality Ben Aaron, has been a headache for producers of Dancing With the Stars while his wife competes on Season 22 of ABC's competition show. TMZ reports that producers had to ban him from the set after he continually tried to tell them how to air packages of her performances and began writing dialogue for her airtime ads. After being told to cease, he got less airtime on the show and has been moved from the front row seats to the side.

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#8 Gays Angered That Roberts Promoted The State of Mississippi

Gay and lesbian magazine The Advocate criticized Roberts last Spring for appearing on the cover of Mississippi's official tourism guide because the state had passed what the magazine called "a pro-discrimination law, allowing businesses, individuals and broadly defined 'religiously affiliated organizations' to refuse service to LGBT people, single mothers, and others who somehow offend an individual's 'sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction' regarding marriage and sexuality." She defended herself by claiming she is a state native and was photographed before the law was ever thought up. She also noted that the magazine was about the beauty of the state and not the ugly.

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#9 Lara Spencer And Amy Robach Despise Each Other

According to TMZ, the morning show has lots of drama off the set. They claim that Lara Spencer and Amy Robach "hate" each other and "can't hide their contempt." Even worse, TMZ claimed that the senior vice president of ABC News, James Goldston, actually confronted Robach and called her "toxic" for creating on-set tension. The two hosts denied the gossip and even went on TMZ together and talked about how much they adore one another. That didn't last long. The next day, sources for Radar Online spilled the beans on their alleged feud, claiming Robach hated Spencer because she "shamelessly flirts" with men on set and allegedly abandoned Robach during her breast cancer battle. Each of the girls claims the other is a diva and demanding, but producers admitted to reporters that Spencer is "difficult".

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#10 Roberts Is The Real Diva

In a leaked memo in 2014, it was said by producers that Robin Roberts was the actual GMA diva. They gave Lara Spencer a promotion to co-host in an internal memo instead of announcing it publicly. TMZ reports that the reasoning is that ABC only gave the promotion and title to her because they wanted to keep her happy after they had already promoted Robach. Robin Roberts reportedly doesn't get along with either of the two girls.

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#11 Captain Of The Ship

The report by tMZ also states that "[Roberts] can be quite a diva, and GMA didn't want to ruffle her feathers," which could be the reason why the memo said that "Roberts is the captain of the ship". Apparently, they didn't want the captain to know that the two girls had been promoted, so they sent out internal memos instead.

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#12 Michael Strahan Blindsided Kelly Ripa

Live With Michael & Kelly co-host Kelly Ripa reportedly felt so blindsided by news of Strahan's departure in April 2016, finding out right before the rest of the world on live TV, that she immediately took some unplanned vacation, leaving her partner high and dry to announce his exit on the air without her. When she eventually returned to work, Ripa delivered a now-famous opening monologue about "respect in the workplace."

#13 Ripa Was Jealous Of Strahan And Acted Childish

TMZ reported that Ripa was jealous of Strahan since he was getting so much attention on the show from fans. She was constantly making jokes and jabs about his personal life,making working with her unbearable for Strahan. Sources also suggested Strahan was not "present enough" on Live! because of his part-time duties with GMA. TMZ sources said Ripa "made it clear she'd be a happy camper" if Strahan left the show before his originally scheduled departure in September 2016, and he did, bidding audiences adieu in May 2016. However, on the final episode, Ripa made amends with Strahan and wished him well at his new full-time gig on GMA. But sources say there is no love loss between the two.