ABC News legends David Muir and George Stephanopoulos secretly hate each other and are embroiled in a ‘historic’ feud, it is claimed.
The two journalists are known to have tension and are therefore rarely seen on screen together, as revealed by Oliver Darcy in a holiday edition of the Status newsletter.
“There has certainly been some historical tension – to put it lightly – between the two anchors,” Darcy wrote in response to a question about the dynamic between Muir and Stephanopoulos.
‘That has caused headaches for the network’s bosses. But viewers may notice that in recent years, Stephanopoulos has been absent from politically focused special coverage such as Election Night. Those tasks now fall entirely under the responsibility of David Muir.”
The two news anchors have reportedly had a professional rivalry for years, which deepened when Joe Biden’s advisers chose Stephanopoulos to conduct the president’s first interview after his disastrous debate performance.
The American sun reported in September that when the hosts moved to a new studio in New York City, Stephanopoulos wanted “a dressing room as big as rival David Muir’s space.”
“George wanted to make sure he gets what David Muir gets,” the insider told the outlet.
ABC News stars David Muir and George Stephanopoulos have had a “historic” feud as they battled for power at ABC News for years. They are seen with Diane Sawyer and James Goldston in 2014
When the anchors moved into a new studio in New York City, Stephanopoulos reportedly wanted “a dressing room the size of rival David Muir’s space”
In 2021, Disney boss Bob Iger flew from California to New York to make a deal with Stephanopoulos after threatening to leave ABC because younger rival Muir had been promoted to Chief Anchor.
“He’s asked people on his team to find out what David is getting to make sure his is comparable.”
Earlier this year, DailyMail.com reported on a Radar Online story that provided insight into the alleged feud.
‘The rivalry between David and George is real and creates tension behind the scenes…’
That rivalry reportedly goes back to Muir’s rise at the network and Stephanopoulo’s resistance to his replacement with a younger journalist.
In 2021, Disney boss Bob Iger flew from California to New York to make a deal with Stephanopoulos after threatening to leave ABC because younger rival Muir had been promoted to Chief Anchor.
Stephanopoulos was furious when Muir was given the responsibility of leading the network’s special coverage of breaking news and special events – a role Stephanopoulos had held since 2014.
The Good Morning America host served as White House communications director for Bill Clinton in the early 1990s. He joined ABC in 1997 and was promoted to Chief Anchor in 2014. The network had never had one before.
When he found out that the responsibilities of Head Anchor were being transferred to Muir, 47, even though the title wasn’t, he threatened to walk.
The two anchors have reportedly had a professional rivalry for years, which deepened when Biden’s advisers chose Stephanopoulos to conduct the president’s first interview after his disastrous debate performance.
The rivalry between the two men dates back to 2014, when Muir replaced Diane Sawyer at what was then known as ABC World News. Muir will be seen with Biden in 2023
The two journalists are known to have tension and are therefore rarely seen on screen together at ABC
The rivalry between the two men dates back to 2014, when Muir replaced Diane Sawyer at what was then known as ABC World News. It’s now called World News Tonight.
At the time, the role of World News anchor was the most coveted within the organization and whoever filled it was considered top dog.
Stephanopoulos was already hosting GMA and leading it to huge commercial success, but wanted the role of World News Tonight. He stuck to the morning schedule.
Muir got the job as anchor of World News. He had significantly less experience than Stephanopoulos at the time, so the role of Chief Anchor went to the latter, as well as the higher salary.