Kelly Ripa Says to ‘Get a Life’ After Getting ‘Hate’ for Her Take on Thanksgiving Stuffing Versus Dressing

Mar. 15, 2025

Kelly Ripa on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’.Photo:DISNEY/Lorenzo Bevilaqua

DISNEY/Lorenzo Bevilaqua

Are the herb, onion and butter-flavored bread pieces at the Thanksgiving table called stuffing? Or dressing?Kelly Ripadoesn’t care.On Monday, Nov. 25, theLive with Kelly and Markco-host sparked a discussion of what the classic Thanksgiving dish should be called, as different regions of the country used different terms. The discussion then set off a polarizing, apparently heated argument online.Ripa addressed the “hate” over the conversation on Nov. 26.“I mean, forget any political discourse,” Ripa said on the show. “The real discourse are the people arguing about stuffing and dressing.“Broadly, most Americans call the dish “stuffing,” but in the South, it’s commonly referred to as “dressing” — not to mention in Pennsylvania, it’s sometimes called “filling.“Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’.DISNEY/Lorenzo Bevilaqua/GettySome claim the difference is in how the dish is prepared — inside the turkey itself or on its own.HuffPost reportedanother possible reason for the difference in terminology — “the Victorians deemed stuffing to be too crude for the dish to be named.“But to Ripa, the issue just wasn’t that deep, especially for the amount of hate she received on social media.“Basically, I’m going to say something: Get a life, honestly. Just get one. Calm down,” she said. “If you’re worried about this, then congratulations, you don’t have actual problems.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Ripa and her husband and co-hostMark Consuelosbrought in actressScarlett Johanssonto weigh in on the issue.“What I understand is dressing is kind of Southern. It’s stuffing, but they call it dressing?” Johansson said.“We said that yesterday! But we got hate!” Consuelos said. “Stuffing is what goes inside the turkey. If it doesn’t go inside the turkey, if it’s on the side, it’s dressing.““According tosomeon the internet,” Ripa added, “who have a lot of time on their hands.“During her visit to the show, Johansson sharedher own Thanksgiving plansthis year, revealing that she and Colin Jost will be spending the holiday at a restaurant for the first time.“We’ve not really done that before,” theBlack Widowstar said. “Every year I feel like it’s me and my father-in-law and we’re both doing dishes for half the thing. And I don’t want anybody to feel obligated to have to clean up.”The actress added, “I feel very fortunate we’re able to go to a restaurant and enjoy.”

Are the herb, onion and butter-flavored bread pieces at the Thanksgiving table called stuffing? Or dressing?

Kelly Ripadoesn’t care.

On Monday, Nov. 25, theLive with Kelly and Markco-host sparked a discussion of what the classic Thanksgiving dish should be called, as different regions of the country used different terms. The discussion then set off a polarizing, apparently heated argument online.

Ripa addressed the “hate” over the conversation on Nov. 26.

“I mean, forget any political discourse,” Ripa said on the show. “The real discourse are the people arguing about stuffing and dressing.”

Broadly, most Americans call the dish “stuffing,” but in the South, it’s commonly referred to as “dressing” — not to mention in Pennsylvania, it’s sometimes called “filling.”

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’.DISNEY/Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Getty

DISNEY/Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Getty

Some claim the difference is in how the dish is prepared — inside the turkey itself or on its own.HuffPost reportedanother possible reason for the difference in terminology — “the Victorians deemed stuffing to be too crude for the dish to be named.”

But to Ripa, the issue just wasn’t that deep, especially for the amount of hate she received on social media.

“Basically, I’m going to say something: Get a life, honestly. Just get one. Calm down,” she said. “If you’re worried about this, then congratulations, you don’t have actual problems.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Ripa and her husband and co-hostMark Consuelosbrought in actressScarlett Johanssonto weigh in on the issue.

“What I understand is dressing is kind of Southern. It’s stuffing, but they call it dressing?” Johansson said.

“We said that yesterday! But we got hate!” Consuelos said. “Stuffing is what goes inside the turkey. If it doesn’t go inside the turkey, if it’s on the side, it’s dressing.”

“According tosomeon the internet,” Ripa added, “who have a lot of time on their hands.”

During her visit to the show, Johansson sharedher own Thanksgiving plansthis year, revealing that she and Colin Jost will be spending the holiday at a restaurant for the first time.

“We’ve not really done that before,” theBlack Widowstar said. “Every year I feel like it’s me and my father-in-law and we’re both doing dishes for half the thing. And I don’t want anybody to feel obligated to have to clean up.”

The actress added, “I feel very fortunate we’re able to go to a restaurant and enjoy.”

source: people.com