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When George Stephanopoulos was approached in 2009 about replacing Diane Sawyer as co-anchor of “Good Morning America” by then-ABC News president David Westin, the former politico was the host of Sunday news show “This
Week.”
“He had a great position there in Washington,” Westin tells me. “They had a beautiful house in Georgetown, and he and [his wife Ali Wentworth] were very, very happy, so George did resist.”
Stephanopoulos remembers turning down the “GMA” job at least twice. That’s when Westin asked co-anchor Robin Roberts to have dinner with him.
“I was like, ‘I’m not usually a deal closer, but I’ll do my best,’” Roberts recalls.
By dessert, Stephanopoulos had changed his mind. He joined “GMA” on Dec. 14, 2009 and the show began with the pair at the Christmas-decorated anchor desk. “It’s the dawn of a new day, new hopes, new dreams, new ways,” Roberts said, in part. “And as you can see, a new ‘GMA’ co-anchor.”
Mild-mannered Stephanopoulos simply replied, “It is great to be here.”
Now, almost 20 years later, Stephanopoulos and Roberts are receiving stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Michael Strahan, who joined “GMA” as a co-anchor in 2016, will emcee their unveiling ceremony on Nov. 5.
Hi, Robin. Hi, George.
Robin Roberts: I love your bow tie, Marc.
It’s my work drag.
RR: I love it. Is it your signature?
I haven’t worn a straight tie in at least 15 years.
RR: I haven’t done anything straight in 60 years.
I’m with you, Robin.
RR: You set me up for that.
GS: The answer to that is, “I’m always the straight man.”
RR: You’re outnumbered on this call, sadly. We feel for you.
Did you ever think you’d have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
RR: How simple is that to answer? Absolutely not.
GS: It wasn’t on the bingo card at all.
Robin, do you remember when they told you they wanted George to co-anchor with you?
RR: I remember David Westin coming to me and telling me this, and I was like, “Oh, cool, OK.” And then George and I met for dinner in New York City. I remember that George loved where he was in D.C. But David realized that there was something there. I think because both of us came to being anchors at “GMA” outside of our comfort zone a little bit, it really kind of bonded us.
GS: I said no to David twice. But I’m forever grateful to him because he saw something that I didn’t, and the job has been a blessing. No two days have been the same. That’s what’s so great about morning television. You get to do a little bit of everything.
RR: I remember David saying, “Would you please take him to dinner? He keeps saying no to me.”
GS: You could put us side by side on paper and say we’re the ultimate odd couple. But I think we share values and outlooks on life.
RR: I was talking to Melody Hobson recently, and she’s of course married to George Lucas and people always ask her how they make it work. She said they’re both different, but they never tried to change the other. I think that’s been the key for us, too. We are different in so many ways, but you find those common threads. I’m not going to try to make him an extrovert. When it’s my birthday, I’m excited and I’m like, “Let’s celebrate!” George is more like, “Please don’t mention it’s my birthday. I don’t want a cake. I don’t want a celebration.”
Do you ever argue?
RR: Argue? No
GS: I don’t think so.
RR: I cannot honestly think of any time that we had an argument, not even a disagreement.
GS: One of the great things is the team around us, which allows us to be ourselves. You don’t have to be everything to everyone on the show because we have Michael Strahan; we have Sam Champion; we have Lara Spencer; we have Geo Benitz; we have Ginger Zee; we have Will Reeve; we have Rebecca Jarvis. Everybody brings something else to the table, so you can just do your thing.
RR: Sometimes we just lay back and let the kids do their thing and go, “Thank goodness.”
Have you been able to get up in the morning later as the years have gone by because you have your routine down?
GS: I started at 2:30 when I first started. I was so scared. Now it’s more like 3:30. I like my time in the morning.
RR: He was the first one in on day one, and he’s still the first one in right now. You do get into a rhythm. I’m like George. I like the mornings, too. I can’t even sleep in on the weekends. I usually can’t sleep past 5:30, 6. During the week, I’m usually up by 3:45.
After all these years, is there still an interview you still want to get?
RR: My answer used to always be Nelson Mandela, but he’s no longer with us, Nelson Mandela. I traveled to South Africa a few times for work, but it never worked out. He was my gold star. He was the one that I wanted more than anything.
GS: It’s so often news-dependent, but I’d always love to have a chance to sit down and interview a pope. If it would be a real interview with real time, give me President Putin or President Xi any day of the week. Although I’m not allowed in Russia anymore, so that’s not going to happen.
RR: But you went to Russia.
GS: I did for Sochi for the Olympics in 2014. I got a five-minute interview with Putin alone and about an hour with a group of other people. But there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then. I’m barred from entering Russia. They didn’t like an interview I did with the foreign minister.
What does that feel like to be barred by a country?
GS: You just take it as it comes. I feel bad for my family because we were planning a vacation to St. Petersburg, which we now can no longer take.
RR: That really is the opposite of me. St. Petersburg is not on my list of places to visit.
The public’s trust in news media is at its lowest. How do you get that trust back?
GS: I have to split it into two parts. I think our audience trusts us implicitly. That’s why they watch every day. I don’t want to overstate it, but people watch us in a different way. They watch us as they’re getting ready for their day, as they’re getting their family ready for their day. It’s a very intimate relationship, almost like we’re family. Now, more broadly, it’s a huge challenge. We’ve seen more than a decade of attacks on the media and people calling us into question.
RR: It hurts. Think about if a world leader, a leader of your country, ripped your profession apart and made the public mistrust you. It hurts because we know how hard we work. We know how important our jobs are, and it stings. It stings when you hear the words “fake news,” and they’re trying to undermine what we’re doing.
George, have you ever thought of going back into politics?
GS: I think that ship has sailed. It’s been an awful long time. I’m forever grateful that I had the opportunity when I was younger. There’s nothing like working on campaigns and working in the White House. But no, I think that’s done.
Robin, when you were first starting out, did you ever think there would be a Black, out lesbian co-anchoring a morning show and that co-anchor would be you?
RR: No. I can remember when we had my bachelorette party on “GMA,” and we were coming out of a promo for it, teasing that it was coming up. George looked at me and said, “Did you ever think that you would be having your bachelorette party on television?” I said, “No — and with a woman!” What I loved about it is that we never made it as, “Oh, Robin’s marrying a woman.” It was, I’m a morning anchor and it just so happens that my spouse is same-sex. But no, I never, never in my wildest dreams thought that would be possible. But I am so grateful.
GS: That’s another way we’re different. I’m coming up on my 25th wedding anniversary, so I’m very happily married. But if I were ever to have a bachelor party today, there is zero chance it would be on “GMA.”
