George Stephanopoulos nearly missed the Tuesday, July 29, episode of Good Morning America for a surprising reason.
On the ABC morning show, Stephanopoulos revealed that he had gotten stuck in an elevator on his way into work. “I had a little surprise this morning,” he said to his cohosts. “I was coming in the building with the man who keeps me safe, Richie, and we got into the freight elevator and got to the second floor and it just stopped. Just stopped between the second and third floor.”
With the help of the New York City Fire Department, Stephanopoulos and his security guard were able to make it out of the elevator without missing the top of Tuesday’s show. “They were finally able to come through the ceiling, send a ladder down,” he shared.
The ordeal lasted around an hour and 15 minutes. As for what Stephanopoulos got up to while he was stuck? “I answered a lot of emails. I read The New York Times. It was okay,” he said. “Richie and I chatted a little bit, and we were safe. Thank you, New York City Fire Department.”
As Stephanopoulos shared his story, the morning show played footage of the rescue. The TV personality was shown climbing out of the top of the elevator and making it safely to the ground thanks to the help of some firefighters. As he climbed down the final steps of a ladder, he turned to the camera and said with a smile, “Good morning, America!”
Fans shared their strong reactions to Stephanopoulos’ elevator incident in the comments of GMA‘s Instagram post about the moment on Tuesday. “Ohhhhh my God, being claustrophobic, I would have lost it!! Glad he’s out,” one person wrote, while another added, “One of my biggest fears is getting stuck in an elevator! 😳 I would not be calm at all!”
“Trust @gstephanopoulos to check emails and read while stuck in a elevator 😂😂 need to do a segment on keeping calm while trapped 🤣🤣🤣🤣,” a third user joked.
Some users noted that the accident happened not long after GMA moved from Times Square Studios to the new ABC/Disney studios in Hudson Square. “Now hold up now… yall just moved into that building,” one fan quipped in the comments. Another person wrote, “What? How are the elevators breaking in brand new Hudson Square?”
Stephanopoulos returned to GMA on Monday, July 28, after he was absent for several episodes last week. ESPN’s Joe Buck filled in for the host from Wednesday, July 23, through Friday, July 25, though many fans were unhappy with the show’s pick of replacement.
“I love Joe but wtf is he doing there?” one person commented underneath a GMA Instagram clip of Buck’s hosting debut. Someone else posted, “Don’t like Joe Buck! Hope George is back soon! Please don’t replace Michael with him!”
Good Morning America, Weekdays, 7am/6c, ABC