A feud has broken out among some of ABC’s biggest heavyweights – and it’s only escalating.
The creator of The Bachelor, Mike Fleiss, has come under fire for publicly criticising host Kelly Ripa of Live With Kelly and Ryan.
On Tuesday’s episode of the daytime show, Ripa said of the Bachelor franchise: “You know how I feel about this show. It disgusts me.”
She added: ”And I thought that I was disgusted because I couldn’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.”
The Bachelor and Live with Kelly and Ryan are both associated with ABC. The Bachelor airs on the network, while Live with Kelly and Ryan airs on its flagship station WABC-TV.
Fleiss quickly replied to Ripa’s comment on Twitter, writing: “Easy, @KellyRipa... #TheBachelor franchise pays your salary!”
Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo, whose show also airs on ABC, jumped to Ripa’s defense and publicly took Fleiss to task.
“Your show does NOT pay @KellyRipa salary,” Pompeo wrote.
“Also we don’t attack successful women on our network and men certainly cannot take credit for their success.
“Don’t get me started on your show cuz I’m a savage.... #bachelorsoooowhite”
Hannah Brown, the current star of The Bachelorette, visited Ripa’s show, which she co-hosts with Ryan Seacrest, on Thursday.
Ripa reiterated the fact that she finds the concept of The Bachelor ”weird” and doesn’t “believe in it”.
