Inside Their Nasty Battle

The gloves are off! Kelly Ripa and Megyn Kelly are going head-to-head on TV — and it’s personal

The timing was no accident. On the same day of ABC’S surprise May 1 announcement that Ryan Seacrest had been named Kelly Ripa’s new Live co-host, rival NBC confirmed that Megyn Kelly would be hosting the third hour of Today. That pits her directly against Live With Kelly and Ryan in the country’s biggest markets starting in September. “Kelly is extremely competitive and realizes NBC and Megyn were trying to steer the media away from news of Ryan’s hire,” an ABC insider tells In Touch exclusively. “Kelly knows NBC is going to throw all of their resources into their new star — but Kelly

isn’t about to lose to Megyn.”

The nasty battle has begun. Both women are already saying they will beat the other in the ratings race, NBC has started moving staffers over to Today to try to get the best guests for Megyn, and a booking war has already broken out between Today and Live With Kelly and Ryan, high-level sources on both shows exclusively tell In Touch. And even though Kelly and Megyn, both 46, have what one source calls a “cordial” relationship, this battle is still personal. “Of course each one wants to win,” says a Kelly source. “Neither wants to lose. They both have a lot of pride, so there’s a lot on the line here. The gloves are off, and both are out to win the ratings war.”

Kelly is absolutely confident that she and Ryan, 42, can win. “She’s openly bragging that the ratings race won’t even be close,” says the ABC insider. Meanwhile, Megyn — who was lured from Fox News to NBC in January — is “unfazed,” says an NBC insider. “She thinks it’s absolutely beneath her to be compared to an entertainment host and the former host of American Idol.” (Ouch!)

The morning TV wars are brutal. Though Live With Kelly has been beating Today in the 9 a.m. hour, the numbers have been incredibly close. The very first broadcast of Live With Kelly and Ryan was huge, easily

beating Today (without Megyn) and Ryan’s presence is expected to give the show a big bounce in the weeks to come. But it’s also worth noting that when Megyn — then the No. 2– rated personality in cable news — guest-hosted Live alongside Kelly the day after Donald Trump won the presidential election, the show’s ratings went up, tying her for fourth place out of 68 guest hosts!

But Kelly is still confident she’ll win once Megyn, who’s launching a Sunday night NBC News show in June, starts appearing on Today this fall. “Kelly has a proven track record of morning ratings success that Megyn doesn’t. She has faith

viewers will flock to her show and that Live will be even better because of the competition,” says the ABC insider. “Kelly is telling producers on Live not to worry because stay-at-home moms will tune Megyn out because no one can relate to her. Megyn has made what some perceived as racially insensitive comments in the past, too, and Kelly knows viewers have a very long memory.” (After then–first lady Michelle Obama gave a speech on race and history in 2015, Megyn lamented the country’s “culture of victimization” on her Fox News show, The Kelly File. And after the 2015 disclosure of highly offensive racist emails from within the police department

of Ferguson, Mo. — where the August 2014 deadly police shooting of an unarmed black teen sparked riots — Megyn defended the department, saying, “There are very few companies in America, whether they’re public or private, in which if you sic 40 FBI agents on the company…you won’t find any racist emails.”)

Competition to book the best guests will be fierce. But Kelly isn’t worried she’ll lose out to Megyn. “She feels that she and Ryan will make an unbeatable combination,” says the Kelly source. Execs at Today are more nervous. “We never worried about Kelly Ripa’s show until now. We already moved a couple bookers over to focus energy on Megyn’s hour,” a Today source exclusively tells In Touch. “With Ryan now on board over at Live, we’re not taking anything for granted. We’re going to make sure Megyn wins.” Some NBC staffers, however, have been left scratching their heads over the kinds of guests Megyn will be interviewing, especially after news recently circulated claiming Megyn’s first sit-down will be with reality TV’S Kardashian family. “The Kardashian thing raised a lot of eyebrows at Today,” admits the Today source. “We were told Megyn would focus on newsmakers, not fluff. Obviously that’s all changed. I’m sure with Ryan on board at Live now, you will see us go after some of the same [celebrity] names.”

Megyn is convinced she’ll come out on top. “Executives at NBC are treating Megyn as if she’s the queen of the network, and she believes it,” says the NBC insider. “Megyn thinks she will attract a much more educated audience [than Kelly].” She knows the morning audience is a different animal than what she’s used to. “Megyn is smart. She’s going to have a few tricks up her sleeve, and she’ll come out swinging,” says a Megyn source. “If anyone should be worried, it’s Kelly! It’s going to be fun to watch these ladies battle it out. But in the end, Megyn knows how to win and she knows NBC is betting big on her, and she doesn’t want to let the execs down. That’s a lot of pressure, but if anyone can handle it, Megyn can.”

Not everyone at NBC is so sure. “Some NBC execs are extremely nervous about the decision to put Megyn up against Kelly. Producers know the audience very well and know who Today viewers want to see, and they just don’t believe it’s Megyn,” says the NBC insider. Though NBC News chairman Andy

Lack is giving Megyn his full backing and support, “Everyone is predicting it’s going to bite him in the end,” adds the NBC insider. “Ben Sherwood, the president of Disney–abc Television Group, will be watching the morning ratings very closely and has the utmost confidence that Megyn is going to be a ratings bust for NBC.”

Time will tell. For now, Megyn thinks she will emerge victorious, while Kelly believes she will win the ratings war. “Megyn is a trained journalist and knows she has a big advantage over Kelly when it come to politics, Trump, terrorism, the changing world stage…all those things are in her wheelhouse,” says the Megyn source. That’s what Kelly is counting on. “Kelly reasons that people don’t want world crisis with their waffles and coffee. They want humor, information and fun celeb interviews,” says the Kelly source. “And that’s something that she and Ryan can deliver.” ◼

Kelly feels she’s the real pro here and that she’s going to school Megyn when it comes to a morning show audience”

— A KELLY SOURCE

After a few moments of intimate conversation, their faces mere inches apart, Tom Cruise and Vanessa Kirby came together for a passionate kiss on a Paris street. She gripped the back of his neck with both hands while he reached for her waist. Moments later, after they came apart, the pair were trading playful banter, laughing and smiling as the M:I 6 — Mission Impossible director set up for another shot on May 2, leaving many wondering if what they were seeing was acting or real life.

It’s both. Six weeks before Tom, 54, and Vanessa, 29, shared that steamy kiss, In Touch exclusively reported that he’d fallen for the English actress after seeing her in Netflix’s critically acclaimed series The Crown and cast her in M:I 6 in hopes she could be the fourth Mrs. Tom

Cruise. But now that production is underway and they’ve been spending more time together, he’s in far deeper. “Just as Tom had hoped for when he hired Vanessa, he’s found they have great chemistry on- and offscreen,” says an insider. “They have a blossoming romance going.”

He’s smitten with both the woman and her work. “He loves how prepared and dedicated an actress she is and her vivacious personality,” explains the insider, adding that Tom is also impressed by Vanessa’s University of Exeter education as well as her extensive background in theater. “He hasn’t seen her in any live performances yet, but he’s told her that he’ll buy out the front row for her next stage appearance in London.”

Vanessa has dated other costars and fellow actors in the past, including Douglas Booth and Christian Cooke. “But there’s no one as formidable and charismatic as Tom,” says the insider. “He’s actively pursuing her, and she’s loving it.” Another source tells In Touch the two have been “inseparable” on set: “Even when they are not working on their lines together, they’re together talking.” Although Vanessa isn’t a Scientologist, the source can see Tom introducing her to his religion one day soon. “There’s just something special about her, and he’s fallen hard.” ◼