Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have always spoken about not letting their children rely on fame to get them places. But it seems like that may not actually be the case.
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Their oldest son, Michael, has landed two high-profile jobs in franchises very close to his parents. You’ll never believe what he does for work and how suspicious it is that he got these jobs.
Michael Stars in Riverdale alongside His Dad
In 2018, Kelly and Mark’s son Michael got his first real role in the entertainment industry after he was cast on the hit show Riverdale. Mark plays a recurring character on the show. Interestingly enough, Michael played a young version of his dad’s character.
While it makes sense as a casting decision to get someone related to Mark to play a younger version of himself, it’s clear that Michael got this role purely because of his dad. Although he might be a decent actor, his credits before his role on Riverdale consisted of voiceover work for just a few episodes of children’s shows when he was younger.
It seems almost impossible that he would have landed this role just based on merit, meaning that the producers likely only reached out to him because of his relation to Mark. The character that his dad played in the show was highly integral to the entire plot and was a major character, so it just seems strange that they would have cast someone with almost no experience.
Because he’s Mark’s son, it’s possible the showrunners did everything they could to make their casting decision work. It’s likely that even if he wasn’t an amazing actor, they would have cast him in that role anyway.
Being on such a show is an honor, as the main cast has gone on to have extremely promising careers. Having the show on his resume is an accomplishment, but not one that he got on his own.
Kelly Claims Her Son Lives in “Extreme Poverty”
This directly contradicts what Kelly and Mark have stated about their parenting style when it comes to their children.
Kelly told Access Hollywood that she and Mark make their children hold jobs to understand the importance of work. She’s even said that neither she nor her husband grew up privileged, so it was important to them that their kids knew what it meant to work hard.
There’s no denying that Michael may have worked hard while on Riverdale. But there is still a huge presence of privilege that it seems the whole family is just glossing over. Michael had also moved out of his parents’ Upper East Side home to live in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
In her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kelly said Michael enjoys the freedom of living on his own but hates paying rent. She said he’s chronically poor and that she doesn’t think her son has truly experienced extreme poverty like he is experiencing now.
It seems clear that Kelly doesn’t know what extreme poverty actually looks like. Even if Michael was living paycheck to paycheck, it’s obvious that he is able to provide for himself comfortably. He seemingly has all the necessities, and even if he doesn’t, he always has his extremely rich celebrity parents to fall back on.
Actual poverty certainly doesn’t look like that, and it’s shocking that she would even compare the two situations at all. The comment was extremely out of touch.
Michael is Now Working Behind the Camera
Things only get worse when you look at the job Michael has now. In 2023, it was announced that he would become a part of the Real Housewives franchise.
Andy Cohen, a close friend of Mark and Kelly, announced that Michael was working as a producer behind the scenes. He’s not just working on one of the shows. He’s working on multiple, playing a role in The Real Housewives of Miami, New York, and Jersey.
Again, Michael is only 26 years old and has next to nothing on his resume. There’s no way that he has the experience or knowledge to produce a franchise as big as The Real Housewives, let alone to be promoted by the one and only Andy Cohen. Andy even confessed that he has a close relationship with Michael, often texting him to pick his brain.
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It was also revealed that Michael was a recent New York University graduate. This means that this is his first job out of college, aside from his role on Riverdale. Considering how difficult it is for young adults to find employment after graduation, this hand-out is hard to swallow.
While Michael may be a competent and smart guy, that just doesn’t take away from the fact that he most likely didn’t get any of this based on his hard work. It’s extremely hypocritical of Kelly and Mark to act like he did it all on his own without their help.
Even if they didn’t have a direct hand in getting him these roles, being their son has given him opportunities. The connections that they have in the industry are priceless. There’s also no denying that he’s making a decent amount of money with it all, too.
