On the recent episode of Good Morning America, viewers didn’t see Robin Roberts at her regular spot.
Typically, she appears seated between Michael Strahan and George Stephanopoulos, the show’s co-anchors.
Her recent absence arrived amid Strahan’s return to GMA after his controversial televised moment during a Veterans Day tribute show.
That incident occurred on another Fox network during Strahan’s appearance on Fox NFL Sunday as he and his co-stars stood for the National Anthem.
While his Fox colleagues placed their hands over their hearts, Strahan stood with his hands below his waist, one hand gripping his other wrist.
Many viewers called for networks to fire the Pro Football Hall of Famer from his TV jobs for a “disrespectful” act.
Robin Roberts misses Strahan’s return to GMA amid controversy
On Tuesday, November 12, Robin Roberts missed Good Morning America, with Rebecca Jarvis filling in for her at the desk.
As mentioned, Strahan appeared on the show after his absence on Monday. He typically misses Monday episodes due to his work on the other coast for Fox NFL Sunday.
As Roberts missed Tuesday’s episode, she shared an Instagram post regarding her absence from the show.
While she didn’t address her GMA co-star’s incident, she told viewers and fans about what she was up to while missing the show.
The IG post included a photo of Roberts with her Glam Fam crew of stylists at JFK New York International Airport.
“Glam Fam & I on the road again! Heading out on special @goodmorningamerica assignment north of the border and we can’t wait to tell you alllll about it later. As @pskeete_coaching likes to say #motivationalmonday 😉,” Roberts wrote in her caption.
Roberts appeared on Monday’s episode, and Jarvis replaced Strahan during his absence.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chris Evans, and JK Simmons, stars of the new holiday action and adventure film Red One, were among the guests for the November 11 installment of GMA.
In the early portion of the program, Jarvis also said they were “honoring all those who served our nation on this Veterans Day.”
Some viewers called for GMA to fire Strahan after his controversial moment on Fox
Strahan received much backlash for Sunday’s moment as the National Anthem played on Fox NFL Sunday at Naval Base San Diego.
Many individuals called for Fox to fire Strahan and said they’d boycott the show. That carried over to commenters who demanded that GMA remove Strahan from the program.
“Strahan has to go to go. Stopped watching Good Morning America until he is gone. Watch what happens,” a commenter wrote on X.
“How dare Strahan disrespect our vets!” another individual commented.
“Strahan should be FIRED! His disrespect of veterans spoke volumes,” a commenter wrote to @GMA and @michaelstrahan.
“Get rid of him or face boycotts of viewers. The choice is yours,” a commenter wrote.
“Is it hard to sit next to an anti-American like Michael Strahan? He can’t even acknowledge our national anthem. Goes to show what kind of character he has. He shouldn’t even be allowed to be on TV anymore,” another commenter wrote.
Strahan typically appears on Good Morning America on most weekdays but occasionally takes time off for vacations or personal matters, including supporting his daughter amid her battle with cancer during the past year.
Since this weekend’s controversy, Strahan and his employers, ABC and Fox, haven’t publicly commented about the incident from Fox NFL Sunday.
Michael you have the support of many fans. America has become a nation of hate mongers no matter what you do. People are going to complain. Get a life people. Many young people are not placing their hands over their hearts. People we have a great deal m6ore going on than this. I am a vet but I fought for freedom not dictatorship.
This is a shameful article. Strahan explained what happened in that moment. He was not making a statement or disrespecting ANYTHING. He comes from a military family and is extremely patriotic. He simply got caught up in an emotional moment right before the anthem started and when he suddenly realized he didn’t have his hand over his heart, he made a quick decision to hold his hands in a respectful manner in front of him rather than maje a distracting movement in front of the camera. Shame on you for unnecessarily stoking a fire and besmirching his name!