-Morning. -Morning, Richie.
-Good morning, Ms. Roberts. -You're on your best behavior, aren't you?
-What's up, Elvis? -Good morning.
[Roberts] I love saying, "Good morning, America."
All right.
Think about that. I get to set the tone. We get to set the tone for America.
It's gonna be a magical day.
-[Roberts] Sal! -How you doing?
-[Roberts] Doing grand. -Doing okay?
This is teamwork here.
-What up, troops? -[man] Morning, Robin!
I mean, I wish the camera could go all around to see
what it takes to put on a show like Good Morning America.
-[Roberts] What's up, people? -[Petula] Good morning!
Teamwork, discipline, determination.
I took that with me from playing sports.
This is my glam fam.
-This is Elena, Petula, D'Andre. -[chuckles]
It helped that I worked at ESPN, that I had this love for sports.
-Last night the teams were in Orlando... -Sports, knew it cold.
[chuckles] I never worked a day in my life at ESPN.
Shh, don't tell anybody that.
So, leading with the terrifying story, it's the Denver story that...
Coming here to ABC, I love that it pushed me.
I know. I got an e-mail during the show, and it was really good.
My knees were knocking under that desk
when I was sitting next to Diane Sawyer for the first time.
But then the athlete in me came through in realizing that I had done my homework.
[whispering] George Stephanopoulos. George...
I had earned the right to be there,
and I'm so grateful for the support staff that I had to help me.
-One Day at Disney. -Hi, guys.
[chuckles]
Optimism is a muscle that gets stronger with use.
I got in the habit, at an early age, to be optimistic.
[director] Five, four, three...
I almost feel like we are a Disney attraction.
Like, people really look forward to seeing us.
The news is very serious. The information that we're conveying is very serious,
but there's also a component of our program
where you can spend time with the audience.
-[crowd] Good morning! -[Roberts] How are you?
They've come from all over, not only the country but all over the world.
Just got off the airplane.
-Just got off the airplane? -Just got off the airplane.
-And, boy, are my arms-- -And now I'm right here!
-And, boy, are my arms tired! -Right?
I draw energy from them.
-Nice to have you all here. -Thank you.
I'm curious. Curiosity.
I never-- I never lose sight of that.
I'm always-- I'm thirsty for knowledge.
2012...
There's word on the street that President-- then President Obama--
was going to change his position on marriage equality.
I was picked to do the interview.
[male announcer] This is an ABC News special report.
[Roberts] So, I sit down across from the President of the United States of America,
and I say to him, "Have you changed, Mr. President?
Have you changed your position on marriage equality?"
It is important for me to go ahead and affirm
that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.
It was this very special moment to know that you are part of history.
So, I'm feeling pretty good about myself.
We have a producer over to the side who has little blue cards
with little, you know, time cues and little notes and everything.
Did you discuss this with--
I think she's gonna say, "You rock! You're the best!"
It said, "Lipstick on teeth." So, when I said the statem--
When he made the statement, I had lipstick on my teeth,
which made me think of my mother saying, "When you strut, you stumble."
'Cause I thought I was all that. I got the big get.
Got the big interview. "Slow your roll, Robin."
And everyone thought I was so happy at that moment, and I was, professionally,
but personally, it was a very difficult time.
I had received my diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome,
a form of leukemia.
No one knew that I was there.
This was before, um, I did the interview. It was a day before.
Basically, a doctor said, "You're gonna die in a year or two."
So when I'm sitting across from him and he's making this statement,
and it's making national news,
my mind is racing, "Am I going to even be around long enough to benefit,
as a gay woman, what this man just said?"
These two lines here, so it makes it easier to draw blood
and also to administer medication like the chemo that I'm about to have.
The fact that I was out of work for five, six months,
when you get a call from the very top of the company where you're working,
and Bob Iger was one of the first calls that I received
and had his full support, did not have to worry about my job or anything like that.
And I thought about people who go through something like this, who have to worry.
-Going home now! -[people cheering]
It's tough enough you're just fighting for your life.
"Everybody's got something.
Everybody's got something."
My mother used to say that to us all the time
when we were like, "Woe is me. Woe is me."
And she was like, "Honey, everybody's got something."
Something that can be seen as a roadblock, I used as a hurdle.
[chuckles] Yes, you are. That's what I love about the morning, you never know.
[applause]
I didn't go through all this just to hang around.
Minute 30.
And that's why I say, "I'm a thriver, not a survivor."
[audience cheering, applause]