“Three’s Company” star Suzanne Somers revealed that the late Barbara Walters asked her to co-host the early days of “The View” as she explained why she walked away from that opportunity and has “never looked back.”
During Wednesday’s episode of the podcast, “Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef,” the 76-year-old actress said Walters, who founded the show in 1997, asked her to relocate to New York to help launch the series, Page Six reported.
“I was originally asked to be on the original ‘View’ with Barbara Walters and whoever else, and I turned it down,” Somers said.
“And everyone said, ‘Why would you turn that down? It is a national show,'” she added. “I said, ‘First of all, I have to live in New York. I don’t really wanna live in New York. I like the weather down here, and I like the vibe down here.'”
“But secondly, I don’t do well vying for time,” the actress continued. “And there, you gotta interrupt and butt in and butt out. It’s just not my personality.”
“The View” has had a variety of co-hosts since it started. Walters was a host on the show for 17 years before she stepped down in 2014 while remaining as executive producer. In December 2022, she died at the age of 93.
Suzanne Somers claims she turned down co-hosting ‘The View’ with Barbara Walters https://t.co/SCCLmw4Owi pic.twitter.com/nGv1G6axHO
— Page Six (@PageSix) May 10, 2023
Past co-hosts have spoken about their good and bad experiences on the show. Most recently, former co-host Rosie O’Donnell said it is not something she plans to do again.
“I know this — it’s not the best use of my talent to get in a show where I have to argue and defend basic principles of humanity and kindness,” O’Donnell previously said.
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The comedian first appeared as a co-host during the 10th season of “The View” from 2006-2007. She returned in 2014 to the ABC daytime show as a co-host once again, but her stint was very short, and she left months later.