Good Morning America viewers think they have a replacement for longtime anchor Robin Roberts!
Roberts started working with ABC News and GMA as a featured reporter in 1995 and officially became a co-anchor in 2005.
That gives her quite the tenure on the show, and she could choose to retire and pursue other endeavors, including public speaking, authoring books, or podcasting.
She currently stars alongside George Stephanopoulos and Michael Strahan on GMA. All three appeared at the desk this week after returning from their holiday vacations.
During her vacation, Robin spent time in her favorite spot, Key West, Florida, and seemed refreshed and ready to present news stories.
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However, she and her co-stars couldn’t help but laugh at a hilarious remark one of their regular contributors made at the desk. Some fans believe she’s the right “star” to one day replace Robin.
The GMA anchors loved their co-star’s story intro
One of GMA’s stories on the Tuesday, January 7 episode spotlighted a self-driving taxi that malfunctioned with a frustrated passenger inside.
The car continued driving in circles until the company, Waymo, could diagnose and fix the issue.
For GMA’s Play of the Day story, Janai Norman sat with the three co-anchors at the desk to present more details.
“Yes, guys, he called a Waymo and bit off Waymo than he could chew,” she said in her intro to the story.
That had Robin, Michael, and George laughing hard over the funny pun Janai delivered.
“I laughed out loud, thinking of that one. That one was good, wasn’t it? Thank you,” she said as Robin applauded her joke.
Waymo is a self-driving ridesharing service from Google that began in 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. It’s since expanded to several other areas, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, California.
The GMA story included the passenger’s video footage and remarks inside the car during his ordeal in Phoenix.
“Why is this thing going in a circle? I’m getting dizzy,” he said as the car kept going around the parking lot.
Waymo ultimately figured out the issue and got it working, and the passenger reportedly reached the flight he had to catch in time. According to the report, the estimated time the issue persisted was about five minutes.
After Janai finished, Strahan joked that there was “Waymo to that story than [he] expected.”
Fans believe she’s the ‘only choice’ to replace Robin
On Instagram, GMA shared a clip from Janai’s appearance, highlighting her funny intro to the Waymo story. Viewers and fans reacted to the “hilarious” moment, including several commenting about Janai’s presence on the show.
“I love how Janai cracks them up when they are together. Especially George,” one viewer commented.
Another asked, “Why oh why isn’t Janai featured more regularly during the week?!”
The commenter suggested that Janai, Whit Johnson, and Gio Benitez need to be the Friday through Sunday anchors, adding, “Once Robin and George are ready to move on, GMA should be their show.”
“I was cracking up!! She’s so refreshing,” another individual commented, with one saying it was “WAY MO Funnier than I thought.”
“As far as I’m concerned, when Robin does retire, Janai is the only person who should get that spot on the GMA Desk!” a fan wrote.
As of this writing, the comment had 37 likes. Another commenter replied, “If that doesn’t happen @goodmorningamerica needs to be picketed!!”
A viewer said they “laughed WAYMO than usual with this joke” and called Janai a star, using several star emojis.
As a commenter mentioned above, Janai Norman is one of the three co-anchors on the Saturday and Sunday editions of GMA, Good Morning America Weekend.
She began by co-anchoring World News Now and America This Morning in 2018. Janai stars alongside Whit and Gio on ABC’s Good Morning America Weekend.
Viewers occasionally see her stop by to present stories on GMA’s weekday episodes or even fill in for another anchor on vacation.
Based on the recent fan remarks, many viewers would love to see Janai get a permanent spot upon Robin’s departure, although Robin hasn’t mentioned plans to leave anytime soon.