Kelly Ripa won’t let anyone steal her thunder during celebrity interviews on Live With Kelly and Mark.
The talk show host, 54, had a hilarious response to a fan who interrupted her and husband Mark Consuelos’ conversation with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Christopher Meloni during the Thursday, April 17, episode. Christopher, 64, had been telling the couple about a recent trip to the Dominican Republic with his wife, Sherman Meloni.
“My wife and I went down to the Dominican Republic,” he said. “We were at this beautiful restaurant overlooking a jungle, without a light. There was no [light]. It’s not built up, no one’s there.”
An audience member then shouted, “Where was it?” Christopher responded, “I’m not telling you,” earning laughs from the rest of the viewers.
Kelly then leaned forward to look at the woman in the audience as she said, “We’ll handle the questions, ma’am.” Though the TV personality had a serious expression on her face, she broke into a smile and a laugh after her response.
Kelly and Mark, 54, are no strangers to bantering with the live audience during their talk show. Back in February, a woman received a phone call while the couple was live, which interrupted the taping.
“This show has hit the skids!” Kelly said. “Tell your mom we’ll call her back! ‘I just saw you on TV!’ That’s how that conversation was about to go!”
The mom of three then went over to speak to the woman during the commercial break to ask who called her and found out that it was a scammer. Kelly joked that she should give them her credit card and social security numbers.
Last year, Kelly playfully called out audience members who cheered when Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan spoke about her sultry wardrobe on the show and her character’s sex scenes.
“Calm down, you Gen Z perverts,” the All My Children alum joked during the May 2024 interview on Live. Later, she added, “You guys are a bunch of pervs!”
Kelly also shut down hecklers who became disruptive during a conversation about the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in September 2024, firmly telling the audience to “stop.”
Kelly and Mark recently made a big change to their show by moving to a new studio. The couple filmed the first episode in the new space on Monday, April 14.
“Welcome to our brand new studio!” Kelly said at the start of the broadcast. “Wowee! … What do ya think?”
“It sounds good!” Mark added. “It sounds like a stadium!”
The pair revealed that they brought their “beloved” glass dog statue with them from their old studio.
“I’m glad we brought him with us,” Mark said. “Or her, I’m not sure. It’s hard to say.”
Their production designer, Mike Fagan, was responsible for the work done on the new digs.
“We should point out that Mike Fagan is still with us, he did not quit. He did an incredible job. He is extraordinary,” Kelly said. “I got to tell you, I lost a lot of money to Mark Consuelos because I did not think we would be here today. I owe you a lot of money for sure.”
Mark concluded, “You’ve outdone yourself, Mike. This is absolutely stunning.”