“GMA3” anchor Eva Pilgrim on Monday ditched ABC News’ scandal-scarred third hour of its marquee morning show to take over as host of “Inside Edition” — and her co-anchor DeMarco Morgan looks to be out of the picture as well.
The pair — who took over the 1 p.m. time slot in 2023 following the shocking affair between married “GMA3” co-anchors TJ Holmes and Amy Robach — have been in the crosshairs of ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic for months as the Disney-owned network looks to cut costs, The Post previously reported.
On Monday, CBS’ Media Ventures arm, which syndicates “Inside Edition,” announced that Pilgrim will take over as host following Deborah Norville’s departure. The Status newsletter reported Sunday night that Pilgrim would be jumping ship.
Morgan’s future at ABC News also appears to be murky. He hasn’t anchored “GMA3” in weeks, despite the show moving to the network’s new headquarters in Hudson Square in Lower Manhattan.
He was MIA on Monday. The show was hosted by Rebecca Jarvis, Ginger Zee and Gio Benitez, further raising red flags.
A rep for ABC News did not return calls regarding Morgan’s absence.
On Morgan’s personal Instagram, the host recently changed his bio from “GMA3” co-host to listing that he is an alum of both Columbia University and Jackson State University. He also provides a link of abcnews.com but there’s no title identifying his role there.
Morgan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rumors of both Pilgrim’s and Morgan’s departure began to swirl in the spring.
A source told The Post that Karamehmedovic spoke with Pilgrim about her future, but at the time, it was not clear where the co-host would land.
Word of that conversation jilted Pilgrim — and her co-host — who were on high-alert over their fate at the network.
According to the CBS-syndicated show, Pilgrim will become just fourth anchor in the long history of “Inside Edition” when she takes the reins of the weekly investigative newsmagazine show in the fall.
“Anchoring ‘Inside Edition’ is truly a dream job,” Pilgrim said Monday. “I have been an avid viewer and fan of the show for many years. I’m pinching myself that I get to work with this amazing team. It’s truly an honor to join a show with such a long, rich history.”
Last year, ABC News brass expressed alarm over a series of provocative photos of Morgan posing in skin-tight biker shorts, in which the anchor’s “package” was on full display, The Post exclusively reported.
The buzzy Instagram pics, unfortunately, have not goosed “GMA 3’s” ratings, which have generally hovered between 1 million and 1.4 million total viewers this year.
In the last few months of Robach and Holmes’ tenure, ratings were in the 1.7 million-viewer range.
“GMA3” earlier this year. Disney/Nathan Martin
ABC News laid off “GMA3” staff in March and consolidated its production under “GMA.”
At the time, Karamehmedovic — who took over ABC News after Kim Godwin following a slew of high-profile gaffes — assured staffers that the show would remain on the air.
A source had told The Post that Karamehmedovic could even tap the highly paid trio from the “GMA” mothership — Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan and George Stephanopoulos — to fill in.
amused, sources told The Post. DeMarco Morgan/Instagram
At the time of noti.group’s April article, a rep said: “What we have said from the beginning is that we are unifying all day parts under the ‘GMA’ umbrella and team and that includes seeing all members of the extended ‘GMA’ family in the third hour.”
“The third hour is a valued part of the ‘GMA’ franchise. Robin, George and Michael have been on before and they will continue to be featured,” the spokesperon added.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
