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Star Participant
If Ryan can either get back to New York on Sunday night or do his part of Monday's show live from L.A. (with the value added of having last night's "Idol" winner as a guest), how does that make Kelly dispensable?
It is not the schedule that makes Kelly dispensable, it is the personality and star power of her partner. No one cares what Kelly's schedule is.
For better or worse, Ryan's star power is very high right now and this show will only take it higher, combined with all of his other projects. Kelly's star is fading and by taking on Ryan, the bigger star, his personality is so much bigger than hers he essentially becomes the focus of the show.
It is the complete opposite of the situation with Michael Strahan. Although he was a star in the sports world, he was a novice in the entertainment world and he had to audition to get the part of being her sidekick. Her position on the show was never going to be threatened. Adding Ryan is the complete opposite situation, plus with all of her tantrums and drama scenes, I think the viewing public is starting to sour on her a little bit. She used to be the cute perky fun blonde, but now she is starting to take on a Norma Desmond quality and that is not a good thing. Ryan just accentuates that difference (between his rising star and her falling one) and is accelerating her demise from her own show.