Kathie Lee Gifford has spoken about her relationship with former coworker, Regis Philbin, after Kelly Ripa’s new book, Live Wire: Long Winded Short Stories, portrayed their relationship as “not a cakewalk.” Ripa was Philbin’s co-host from 2001 to 2011 on “Live! With Regis and Kelly” and she noted in her book that things were not always easy. “I don’t want to feel like I’m slamming anyone or that I’m being disrespectful,” she said in an interview with People. “But I also want people to know it was not a cakewalk. It took years to earn my place there and earn things that are routinely given to the men I worked with. Including an office and a place to put my computer.” Ripa stated she believes the tension stemmed from Philbin not wanting a co-host after Kathie Lee Gifford exited the show the year before. “I understand that probably he didn’t want a co-host, but the network wanted me to be the co-host and I didn’t think I should pass up that opportunity. I don’t think it was fair to him. But it was also not fair to me,” she said. The two remained distant after Philbin retired from the show in 2017, with Philbin saying in interviews that Ripa was “very offended” by his departure. Ripa, however, did state that she had many good memories with her co-host.

Gifford, who hosted “The Morning Show” and “Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee” from 1985 to 2000 responded with her own memories of Philbin, though she kept from criticizing Ripa’s account. “I’m not going to comment on Kelly’s story. It’s hers,” she told Fox News Digital. “She can say whatever she wants. I’m a big believer in freedom of expression. I don’t believe we’re supposed to cancel anybody. She has the right to tell her story as she remembers it.” In reflecting on her own experience with Philbin, she said, “My experience with Regis was one of the greatest experiences of my entire life. I worked with him for 15 years. We never had one unkind word between us.” She stated that she left the show to pursue other passions and that although Philbin “didn’t like it” he “understood it.” She described them as two great friends over the next twenty years until Philbin’s death in 2020.

In an appearance on “Good Day New York,” Gifford did state that she did not plan to read Ripa’s book. “I don’t even know if it’s out yet. I just know what Regis was to me. He was, for 15 years, the best partner a person could ever, ever have professionally, but he was my friend,” she said. She also stated that she hoped that some of the harsher recollections Ripa had of Philbin, such as him accusing her as having an “entourage,” were untrue. “In all the years I knew him, I never saw him unkind to anyone.”