Kelly Ripa has defended a joke she made about her son experiencing “extreme poverty”, after facing backlash.
While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, Ripa discussed her eldest son, Michael, who recently moved to Brooklyn, and what it has been like for the 22-year-old to be “chronically poor”.
"I don't think he's ever really experienced extreme poverty like now," Ripa told Kimmel.
However, following the segment, the talk-show host, who lives on the wealthy Upper East Side of Manhattan and has a reported net worth of $75m, faced criticism for being "out of touch" and “making light” of extreme poverty.
Ripa has since responded to the backlash on Instagram, where she wrote: “Michael goes to college and is a senior and works full-time. He is in his first non-parent subsidised apartment with roommates. I’m used to getting a lot of slack because people love to have fake outrage over something they didn’t see.
“They only read a headline and wag their tired fingers.”
The 49-year-old continued, adding that she didn’t “grow up privileged” nor did her husband Mark Consuelos.
“We work and expect our kids to as well,” she wrote. “And the fact that a pack of fools want to b**ch about that, I say let em.”
The comment prompted some people to defend Ripa and assure her that she didn’t need to explain herself.
“You did not owe anyone an explanation!” one person wrote. “You’re awesome parents!”
During the interview, Ripa said that although Michael, a student at New York University, loves the freedom of living alone, he is eagerly awaiting money he receives from his grandparents each year so he can pay his electricity bill.
