Kelly Ripa’s Emotional ‘Live’ Reaction to 9/11 Resurfaces 25 Years Later

Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, fans are remembering how daytime hosts, particularly Kelly Ripa, reacted to the day’s tragic events on-air.

In a recent Reddit thread titled “Who were the best and worst news anchors on 9/11,” users praised Ripa for how she handled learning of the attacks on the World Trade Center in real-time with Regis Philbin on Live With Regis and Kelly. Ripa was just a few months into her role as Philbin’s co-host, having taken over for Kathie Lee Gifford in February 2001.

“One of the best examples of coverage that’s often overlooked is Live with Regis and Kelly. She was very fresh to the talk show, but clearly understood the gravity of the situation,” one Reddit user wrote. “Regis tried to remain the stoic newsman but clearly knew this was something big. Kelly is visibly upset as their coverage continues. Eventually they abandon their show knowing that every station in America has joined the network at that point. It’s a very interesting intersection of news and entertainment.”

Another person posted, “It’s heartbreaking when the show first starts and everybody thinks it’s just a terrible accident and Regis is trying to keep things light, talking to Kelly about her kids buying lunchboxes the night before.”

Someone else shared, “A lot of the coverage until the second plane hit minimized it. Tried to play it off as a small plane, an accident, comparing it to the plane that hit the Empire State Building decades before. Then the 2nd plane hit live on air. Even in the Regis and Kelly tape, they think it’s a replay until they’re told it was a second plane. Once it’s clarified, the gravity drops like a weight in free fall.”

In footage from the episode uploaded to YouTube, Philbin and Ripa broke the news to their studio audience that a plane had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. “This is the worst thing I think I’ve ever seen in my life,” Ripa said as the show displayed live footage of the first crash’s aftermath.

Philbin told the studio audience and viewers they would keep sharing updates on the situation before trying to move on to lighter conversation, with Ripa talking about her eldest son Michael’s first day of school. (Ripa shares her kids Michael, Lola, and Joaquin, with her husband and current Live co-host, Mark Consuelos.)

The tone turned dark again when executive producer Michael Gelman told the hosts that a separate plane struck the South Tower. Ripa covered her mouth with her hands in shock as Philbin stated, “That sounds deliberate to me. I mean, I hate to say anything on live TV. … Oh yeah, this is really something.”

Gelman went on to suggest the show take a commercial break. “Why don’t we go to a commercial break, regroup, and get the story straight,” Philbin said as the show went to commercial and a shocked Ripa slowly got out of her seat.

Following the commercial break, the show continued to air footage of the Twin Towers. “This could be the worst tragedy to ever, I’m sure, to ever strike New York City,” Ripa remarked. Philbin added, “It’s kind of difficult to continue the kind of show that we do here every morning under these circumstances, so we’ll stay with this for a little while.” The episode was subsequently taken over by news coverage of the attacks.

Ripa reflected on witnessing 9/11 live on-air during the September 11, 2025, episode of Live With Kelly and Mark. “I always remember that day because I was working here. We were all here together,” she said to Consuelos and the show’s audience. “We were all working here together, and it was Michael’s first day of nursery school. … Obviously, our minds are always with all of the people that we lost, and just those two beautiful buildings.”

Ripa noted that she still gets “wistful” when she sees the Twin Towers in old movies and TV shows.

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