Kathy Griffin Turned Down $1.4 Million Offer to Co-Host ‘The View’ and Barbara Walters ‘Did Not Like That One Bit’

Kathy Griffin was offered a seat at The View table – but turned it down.

In a YouTube video shared to her channel on Tuesday, June 17, the comedian recalled being offered a cool $1.4 million to co-host the daytime talk show. Though Griffin, 64, declined the proposal, the late Barbara Walters apparently wasn’t a fan of Griffin’s decision.

“I really respect those women for going on that show day in and day out because they know there’s blowback,” Griffin began, praising the show, “and by the way, to this day, The View is one of the most buzzworthy shows on television or anywhere.”

“People still get up in arms online talking about who said what on The View, so it’s always been a high-stakes show.”

Griffin then spoke about co-hosting the show roughly 27 times before being offered a permanent spot in the mid-2000s. She had been flying from Los Angeles to New York for several appearances, and though she was getting paid, extras like wardrobe, hair and makeup weren’t included.

“Eventually 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,’ ” Griffin recalled. After a certain point, while the talk show kept auditioning new potential hosts and still flying out Griffin numerous times, she asked whether or not she got the job.

“So they made me an offer and the offer was for 1.4 [million dollars] and I am just going to be honest, I had to turn it down because at the time between doing [the reality show] My Life on the D-List and touring I was making about 10 [million dollars] a year.”

“I had to turn down The View because I would have had to uproot my whole life,” added Griffin, adding that she was taking care of her parents.

“I remember when they offered me the job, Barbara Walters said backstage one time before we were about to go out and do the live show, ‘they say we have chemistry, I don’t really see it but they say we do.’ And I loved that. I said, ‘Of course we do Barbara, people love when I give you s—.’ And then she just rolled her eyes.”

Griffin recalled that while making her decision, she pulled Walters, who died in 2022 at 93, aside and said, “I want you to know why I’m going to say no. It’s not that I think I’m too good for this show, it’s the opposite: this show is too good for me.”

“I’m going to be honest, this is how much money I made last year. I will show you my tax returns. I don’t want you to think I’m blowing smoke but between moving costs and I’m so entwined with my mom and dad. I have a house in Los Angeles, and it just isn’t feasible for me to do, but I want you to hear it directly from me.”

“She did not like that one bit,” Griffin recalled.

“She didn’t care. They didn’t up their offer by a penny, I think I might have said something like, ‘Can you meet me halfway? And they didn’t.’ But there’s the real story,” she concluded.

Rosie O’Donnell wound up getting hired by The View in 2006, years after leaving her eponymous talk show.