Kelly Ripa was named one of a select group of stars to be officially named “Disney Legends” at D23’s annual conference earlier this month when she was inducted into the prestigious group.

Although Kelly, 53, has long been a fixture on daytime television, particularly on ABC, the news came as a shock to her, as she confessed to Disney CEO Bob Iger on the latest episode of her podcast, “Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa.”

The LIVE with Kelly and Mark The co-host told Bob that she felt insulted when she received the call from Debra O’Connell, president of ABC Networks and an executive at the Walt Disney Company.

She shared: “Once again, it was one of those moments when I thought Debra O’Connell was playing an April Fool’s joke on me,” and she admitted that she even asked, “Why me?”

“You needed a real person there to bring some kind of stabilization. There’s a lot of great stuff, but then they say, ‘Okay. How do we honor normal people? Kelly?'”

Bob Kelly then explained what a tremendous role she had played in the company and its success, having been a star at ABC for over three decades, beginning with her days as a TV starlet.

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Kelly began her regular collaboration with the broadcaster when she joined the cast of All my children as Hayley Vaughan, a role she held from 1990 to 2002. And in 2001 she experienced her second upswing as presenter of Live with Regis and Kelly.

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LIVE has gone through several changes since she joined as co-host, with Kelly dating Michael Strahan and Ryan Seacrest before reuniting with her husband Mark Consuelos in 2023.

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Bob assured her that due to her tenure as host of LIVE She is a worthy winner just for her job, which she has held for almost 25 years. “And just think about the sheer amount of time you’ve been on the air. If you add it all up, it’s probably right up there.”

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He continued, “Ultimately, I agree with that list. And actually, I thought, well, why didn’t we come up with this sooner? You’ve actually been worthy for some time. And I think it speaks volumes not only about you, but about the show that you’ve been around for so long now and that we appreciate that.”

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Her bio alongside her induction announcement states: “Kelly Ripa is one of the most powerful voices in media, with a diverse body of work in front of and behind the camera. With a career at ABC spanning 30 years, Kelly has greeted viewers each morning with her sharp wit as co-host and executive producer of the nationally televised show. LIVE.”

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Kelly was presented with the honor alongside other legends such as Harrison Ford, Angela Bassett, Miley Cyrus and Jamie Lee Curtis by none other than Ryan, her close friend and former film partner.

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“Thank you so much and Ryan, thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she gushed during her speech, adding jokingly, “I’m just so glad you finally found something else to host. This feels unreal to me and I want to thank Bob Iger for this truly magical experience.”