Kelly Ripa Slams 'Fake Outrage' After Backlash Over 'Extreme Poverty' Comment

Kelly Ripa is addressing the backlash she received after joking that her son lives in "extreme poverty."

The "Live with Kelly and Ryan" co-host, who made the comments on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tuesday night, responded to the critics, calling the backlash "fake outrage."

Ripa, 49, replied to a user who commented on an Instagram selfie with her son, Michael, 22, who attends New York University.

"Did Michael drop out of school? Last night on kimmel you made a reference he used to go to school :) did he ever have a job? Sure are getting a lot of slack for all the talk about him?" the person wrote.

"Michael goes to college and is a senior and works full time," Ripa began in her lengthy response. "He is in his first non parent subsidized apt with roommates."

"I'm used to getting a lot of slack [sic] because people love to have fake outrage over something they didn't see. They only read a headline and wag their tired fingers," she continued.

Ripa then expressed how she and her husband, Mark Consuelos, don't come from money and have instilled the importance of hard work in their children.

"I didn't grow up privileged and neither did @instasuelos," she wrote. "We work and we expect our kids to as well."

She concluded, "And the fact that a pack of fools want to bitch about them, i say let em."

A fan backed up Ripa in the comments and praised her parenting.

"I have a 22 year old who is a senior in college also and she can't understand why we want her to get a part time job so she can start helping with her bills," the person wrote, per USA Today. "Her dad and I worked all thru college. Good job on raising such a hard worker!"

"thank you!" Ripa replied. "You sound rational"

While appearing on Kimmel Tuesday night, Ripa spoke about Michael and her daughter, Lola, 18, -- who also attends NYU -- and how they come home from college too often.

When asked by Kimmel how Michael is enjoying living in Brooklyn, Ripa said, "I think he loves the freedom. He hates paying his own rent, and he is chronically poor. I don't think he ever really experienced extreme poverty like now."

Although it was fairly obvious Ripa was joking, people on social media didn't take the TV personality's comments lightly and absolutely ripped her.

"Kelly Ripa's comment about her son living in 'extreme poverty' is just another example of how disconnected the 1% is from the rest of the society," a person tweeted. "Poverty is not something anybody wants to experience. It is not a 'tool' to build character."

"Just hearing about kelly ripa saying her son is living in extreme poverty. HELL NO HE IS NOT," another wrote. "Get the hell out of here you. You dont know what poverty is or feels like. Stay in your lane kelly ripa."

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