Kelly Ripa urges viewers to 'calm down' after heated Thanksgiving stuffing controversy

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Kelly Ripa stirred up more than mashed potatoes this Thanksgiving season, igniting a heated debate over the humble bread-based side dish.

But in the following day's episode, she addressed the controversy, asking viewers to "calm down."

Kelly Ripa claps back at critics over stuffing vs dressing debate

On the November 25 episode of 'Live with Kelly and Mark,' the 54-year-old host posed a seemingly innocuous question to viewers: Do you call it stuffing or dressing?

What followed was an uproar that spilled over into the November 26 episode.

“I mean, forget any political discourse,” Ripa remarked on the show, adding “The real discourse are the people arguing about stuffing and dressing.”

She explained that the different parts of the country used different terms, delivering a sharp rebuttal to critics, saying, “Get a life, honestly. Just get one. Calm down."

She added, "If you're worried about this, then congratulations, you don't have actual problems.”

The official Instagram page of 'Live with Kelly and Mark' also posted the snippet of the moment, writing, "Stuffing or dressing? We know which one is the correct answer 😂"

Scarlett Johansson weighs in on the Thanksgiving food fight

The stuffing-versus-dressing debate sparked a frenzy on social media.

The discourse got so heated that Scarlett Johansson joined the conversation on November 26 show, chiming in with her own take, “What I understand is dressing is kind of Southern. It’s stuffing, but they call it dressing?”

"We said that yesterday! But we got hate!" Consuelos said, adding "Stuffing is what goes inside the turkey. If it doesn't go inside the turkey, if it's on the side, it's dressing."

Her comments were met with a mix of laughter and exasperation, with Ripa quipping about online detractors, “According to some on the internet who have a lot of time on their hands.”

While much of the country calls the dish stuffing, Southerners typically prefer the term dressing.

Pennsylvanians, ever the outliers, refer to it as filling. Yet some critics were quick to argue the two aren’t interchangeable at all.

As one person explained, "Pennsylvania has filling, but it is Potato Filling which is made differently."

Another Instagram commenter explained, “Stuffing is cooked in the bird and dressing is baked in a casserole dish.”

Someone else noted, "Dressing. We don’t shove stuff in the bird. We pull stuff out of the bird. 😂"

A follower remarked, "It is DEFINITELY NOT the same thing. Dressing is made completely different and much better than a box of stuffing. #GAgirl"

One comment declared, "I feel sorry for the turkey😢"

Kelly Ripa's pilates mishap sparks flirty banter with Mark Consuelos

Meanwhile, the November 25 episode also brought a lighter—if not physically painful—moment when Kelly Ripa detailed how she injured her neck attempting an advanced Pilates move.

“I threw my legs over with too much ferocity and nearly flipped all the way back off the machine,” she explained, assuring viewers the injury wasn’t due to old age.

Her husband and co-host Mark Consuelos, ever the charmer, couldn’t resist turning the explanation into a flirtatious joke.

After initially declaring he was “glad” not to have been involved in her mishap, he backtracked with a grin, saying, “On second thought, maybe I wish I was involved in that. The way you're describing this move. This move is fascinating to me.”

He even suggested they give it a try over the weekend, prompting Kelly to shrug off his antics with a knowing smile.