WATCH: Kelly Ripa Addresses Her Absence From Live: ‘It’s About Respect in the Workplace’

After a controversial week with hosting shake-ups on the ABC morning show Live with Kelly and Michael, host Kelly Ripa returned to the air Tuesday morning and gave a sincere address from the heart.

After it was announced that her co-host  Michael Strahan would be exiting from the show and heading to Good Morning America, Ripa took several days off, fueling rumors of issues behind the scenes with the morning show. Ripa made her highly-anticipated return Tuesday and addressed the speculation head-on to the crowd.

“I’m fairly certain that there are trained, professional snipers with tranquilizer darts in case I drift too far off message,” she joked to the crowd, who gave her a standing ovation the moment she came out to the set.

“I want to honestly and sincerely thank you for welcoming me back to the show,” she told the crowd at the top of the hour. She continued, “The show of support through this bizarre time has been really overwhelming. I needed a couple of days to gather my thoughts after 26 years with this company, I earned the right.” For Ripa, the emphasis through this ordeal was about communication and respect in the workplace.

She congratulated her co-host with sincerity. Strahan and Ripa after all have been coanchoring the show for four years, after Ripa joined the show in 2001 and sat opposite legendary TV host Regis Philbin until his retirement. On Tuesday, Ripa moved on with enthusiasm, noting, “This show is about entertainment! So let’s get back to the entertainment.”

“I’m so happy you’re back,” Strahan said to her co-host, who he affectionately referred to as “the Queen of morning television.”

Watch the above video from ABC’s Live.

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J.D. Durkin (@jiveDurkey) is a columnist at Mediaite.
[image via screengrab]