Robin Roberts can give as good as she gets when it comes to on-air banter, as her Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan found out first-hand on Wednesday’s (August 13) episode.
The playful back-and-forth happened as the panel were discussing the recent craze over Labubu dolls, the collectible plush toys with exaggerated ears, eyes, and teeth. During the segment, Strahan reached below the desk as Roberts warned him, “Don’t do it, Michael. Don’t do it.”
Strahan ignored his costar’s pleas and proceeded to take out a stuffed toy that Roberts had brought to the studio with her. Despite looking like a round, brightly colored penguin, Strahan told viewers that Roberts thought it was a Labubu.
“We were sitting here, and I saw Robin on her phone, and she was looking this up,” he said, showing the toy to his cohosts Lara Spencer and Whit Johnson. “She thought it was a Labubu.”
“No, that’s not a Labubu,” Spencer replied.
“It’s not even a Lafufu,” Strahan joked. “It doesn’t look anything like [a Labubu].”
Roberts defended her stuffed animal, telling Strahan, “It’s special to me because Dr. [Tara] Narula’s daughter gave it to me to add to my collection. So how do you feel?”
“I feel great because I knew it wasn’t a Labubu,” Strahan responded, laughing. “I couldn’t help it. It has no teeth. Come on.”
That’s when Roberts went in for the kill, quipping, “You’re one to talk about teeth.” As Spencer and Johnson broke into laughter at her surprising dig, the veteran TV anchor continued, “You come at me, I’m coming back at you.”
GMA Instagram
Strahan, who is a proud member of the “Gap Nation” for his distinctive midline diastema, took the barb in good spirits. “Wow, okay,” he said before composing himself and moving onto the next segment.
The official Good Morning America Instagram later shared a clip of the funny segment, captioning the post, “Don’t come for @robinrobertsgma’s stuffed animals 🤣.”
“This is a sign of true friendship – being able to have this type of give and take. Love the GMA fam,” wrote one commenter.
GMA reporter Matt Barbour also commented, sharing, “I GUFFAWED in the studio this morning!!🤣 Best quip I’ve seen in a while😂 Funny as heck!!”
“WOW!! Mike walked into that one!!😂” said another.
Another added, “That whole exchange was hilarious! And dangerously close to going off the rails!”
“@robinrobertsgma with the take down!!” commented one viewer.
“Dayam – Robin chose violence today,” said another.
Good Morning America, Weekdays, 7am/6c, ABC