This reporting is one of several scoops featured in this week’s edition of Confider, the newsletter pulling back the curtain on the media. Subscribe here and send your questions, tips, and complaints here.
As the saga of GMA3 hosts Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes’ affair enters its third week at ABC, fed-up staffers tell Confider they blame the network’s comms shop for turning what could have been a one- or two-day story into a multi-week tabloid frenzy.
The affair, which was an “open secret” at the network, multiple people familiar with the matter tell Confider, has led to ABC News leaking like a sieve, angering News boss Kim “The Banker” Godwin and forcing her to tighten her inner circle to avoid more embarrassing revelations being made public while ABC carries out an investigation.
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Robach and Holmes are yet to be interviewed by investigators, Confider has learned, while the couple’s expense reports are being scrutinized.
Meanwhile, the comms shop has been ordered by Godwin to protect Godwin at all costs, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
“It’s a fucked-up situation and there’s probably going to have to be some sacrificial lambs,” one network insider told Confider. But, as insiders note, it will be difficult for Godwin to fire one host and keep the other.
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In the meantime, GMA3 fill-in host Gio Benitez’s Instagram account has become a source of much amusement within ABC as he wastes no time campaigning for Holmes’ job.
In a memo to staffers Monday, obtained and reviewed by Confider, Godwin addressed the drama.
“I understand that the continuing coverage can be distracting from the incredibly important work our team does here at ABC News. Amy and T.J. will remain off-air pending the completion of an internal review, and there will be a rotation of anchors at GMA3 for the time being. It is my hope that we will continue to focus our energy on what we do best, and I want all of you to know how immensely proud I am of your hard work and professionalism.”
A rep for ABC News declined to comment.
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