UPDATE: Jillian Barberie Reynolds this morning clarified her tweet. “I wasn’t let go as in ‘fired’,” she says on her blog. But she does make clear that KTTV wouldn’t let her co-host anymore and wanted to stick her “in the field” a few times a week instead. ”But the truth is, I loved being on set. Teasing Steve, doing celebrity interviews and working off script and ad libbing! It’s what I do. I could not imagine doing any other role on that show after almost two decades!!”
Previous: When Good Day LA kicked Dorothy Lucey to the curb last May, her co-host Jillian Barberie Reynolds was switched from a full-time KTTV employee to freelance status. Well, now say goodbye to Jillian as well. She was supposed to continue in her current duties though not always five days a week. But on Thursday the Fox-owned Los Angeles station announced it hired Lucey’s much younger blonde replacement Maria Sansone to start Monday – yet didn’t say a word about having changed Reynold’s status. Instead it fell to Jillian, who turned 46 this week (and what a birthday present this was), to tweet:
@askjillian: Just informed I am no longer on @GDLA It’s been an amazing 2 decade run! I will always be grateful for the fun and opportunity!
So far the Twitter reaction from viewers consists mostly of angry pledges to switch to KTLA. With ratings lower and the old team’s salaries higher than management wanted, KTTV will save money without big ticket Reynolds. Meanwhile the mummified Steve Edwards stays on air with the benefit of a longterm contract. Jillian is a onetime Canadian weathergirl who began on Good Day LA in 1995. She now has lots of extracurricular activities (Nutri System spokesperson, Skating With Celebrities, Red Carpet hosting, movie and TV show gigs) after smartly parlaying her airhead persona into fame and fortune.
Related: Maria Sansone Named ‘Good Day LA’ Co-Anchor
Related: KTTV’s ‘Good Day LA’ Co-Anchor Dorothy Lucey To Exit, Jillian Reynolds To Freelance
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