Kelly Ripa wants to make sure that her hunky husband is backing her up.
In the tradition of Kelly and Mark discussing personal moments, the hosts shared a story about an atrocious neighbor from a few years back.
Kelly’s reaction at the time was a lot. If it weren’t for one pivotal detail of her anecdote, she’d come across as the bad guy.
Even so, she accused Mark of making her out to be the “villain” in the story. Awkward!
Did Kelly Ripa have a ‘Karen’ moment? (No)
On the Thursday, December 19 episode of LIVE With Kelly & Mark, the titular Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos delved into Airbnb cracking down on parties ahead of New Year’s Eve.
The tech itself isn’t that radical. It’s just a “machine learning” tool that attempts to flag high-risk bookings that could be from people planning to throw parties under the guise of renting a place to sleep. Critics say that it’s likely as full of flaws as other LLM hogwash as the “AI” bubble collapses.
However, Kelly thought back on how a group of students rented a neighbor’s home years ago. The neighbor has since moved. And the timing is everything: this was during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns.
“But they were throwing illegal raves, like discos.” Kelly shared. This was during a time when restaurants were not even open for dining, when tens of millions of Americans were out of work due to the deadly virus.
Mark chimed in, noting that he remembers this. He was in Vancouver at the time, and Kelly had called him to update him about the harrowing situation. Not only was the viral danger alarming, but the noise was disruptive.
“First I called 3-1-1. Then I called 9-1-1,” Kelly recalled. Authorities were unable to help. While that may sound strange to anyone who’s been warned by police over a noisy party or small fireworks, this was a time when first responders were stretched very thin.
This is when Kelly Ripa took matters into her own hands
“Finally, in the middle of the night, in winter, I, in a bathrobe, like a maniac, go over there and bang on the door,” Kelly described. When someone answered the door, they asked if she was an Uber driver.
“I’m like, ‘I’m not the Uber, I’m your neighbor,’” she recalled. “These two college kids come out and I go, ‘First of all, what you’re doing is illegal.’ They’re like, ‘No, no, no, we live here.’”
Kelly continued: “I go, ‘No, you don’t. I actually know who lives here, and it’s not you. I’m sure they don’t know you’re throwing a discotheque here. Turn the music off. It’s a Tuesday.’”
Though Mark clearly enjoyed parts of his wife’s story, he did add: “You became that person.” Which sounded almost accusatory.
“No, I’m not that person. They are that person,” Kelly clapped back. “I like that suddenly I’m the villain in the story.”
She did conclude the story by sharing that the 3AM dance party ended, to her delight. Or, at least, to her relief.
Who was the true ‘villain’ of the story
Noise complaints are a complex issue. Sometimes, they are mere excuses to harass an “undesirable” neighbor. Other times, one thoughtless person is terrorizing their neighbors.
The best insulation against this is not to call the police, who are not there to help, but rather to befriend neighbors. Then it stops being “Oh, 2C is making noise again” and starts being “Oh, sounds like Jeremy’s having a good time.” That sense of community might encourage neighbors to be more respectful in turn.
As we mentioned, there’s a pivotal detail to this story. There is simply no excuse for throwing house parties, in a rental or otherwise, during the height of COVID-19. None. Whatever personality pathologies would drive someone to do this may explain the thoughtless noisiness that plagued Kelly.
