Kathy Griffin's Shocking Reveal: The Barbara Walters Confrontation Over a $1.4 Million Offer

Kathy Griffin Spills the Tea on Her Shocking Confrontation with Barbara Walters

Get ready for a dose of drama and intrigue as Kathy Griffin opens up about her explosive encounter with the legendary journalist, Barbara Walters! In a new video posted on her YouTube page, Griffin, 64, is dishing out all the juicy details about what went down when she was asked to join The View as a permanent host.

For those who may not know, Griffin was a guest host on the show from May 2007 to September 2007. And let's just say, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. According to Griffin, Walters, who created the show and was a fixture on the panel alongside Joy Behar, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Debbie Matenopoulos when it debuted in 1997, was not pleased with Griffin's decision to turn down a permanent hosting spot.

Griffin revealed that she had co-hosted the show "something like 27 times" before being offered the job, flying from Los Angeles to New York City each time. And while she loved doing the show, she felt undervalued and overworked. She explained that the show paid her scale and didn't cover her expenses, including makeup and hair costs outside of the hair and makeup room.

"I said to my agent, 'Okay, tell them if they're going to offer me a permanent chair, please tell them to just offer me the chair or not.' But I kept flying out there, and they were trying out new hosts so much that I'm like, 'I'm done auditioning. Did I get the job or not?'"

Griffin shared that she was offered $1.4 million for the gig, but ultimately had to turn it down due to her other commitments, including her reality show "My Life on the D-list" and touring.

"I was making about $10 million a year between doing my show and touring," Griffin explained. "So I had to turn down The View because I would have had to uproot my whole life. My mom was still alive, and my dad might have still been alive actually, and I didn't want to leave them."

But what really got the drama started was when Walters herself approached Griffin backstage before a live show. According to Griffin, Walters said, "They say we have chemistry; I don't really see it, but they say we do." To which Griffin replied, "Of course we do, Barbara. People love when I give you s**t." Walters allegedly just rolled her eyes.

Fast-forward to the moment when Griffin had to break the news to Walters that she was turning down the offer. According to Griffin, she pulled Walters aside and explained why she couldn't take the job. Walters was not pleased, and Griffin claimed that the show didn't up their offer by a penny.

"I think I might've said something like, 'Can you meet me halfway?' And they didn't," Griffin revealed. "She did not like that one bit. She didn't care."

And that's when things got really juicy. Griffin claimed to be banned from the show, but would return sporadically over the years. But in 2009, she got into a very public spat with Elizabeth Hasselback, which she claims earned her another "re-ban" from the show.

However, it seems that all was forgiven, as Griffin appeared on The View again in March 2024. It's clear that despite the drama, Kathy Griffin has no love lost for Barbara Walters or The View.

Source: thescholarlynote.com