Kathy Griffin Reveals Why She Turned Down $1.4 Million Offer to Join The View

In a new YouTube video, Kathy Griffin has revealed the real reason she turned down a $1.4 million offer to join The View as a permanent cohost. The comedian has long said in her stand-up acts that she was banned from appearing on the show multiple times over the years, and her recent video sheds light on the situation.

Griffin explained that after cohosting the show close to 30 times, she was offered a permanent position on the Hot Topics table in the mid-2000s. However, she had to turn down the offer due to her busy schedule and the fact that she was making about $10 million a year from her reality show My Life on the D-List and touring.

"I had to turn down The View because I would've had to uproot my whole life," Griffin said in the video. "I remember when they offered me the job, Barbara Walters said backstage one time, 'They say we have chemistry. I don't really see it, but they say we do.' I loved that, I said, 'Of course we do, Barbara, people love when I give you s---,' and then she'd just roll her eyes."

Despite her initial offer being turned down, Walters did not seem to be pleased with Griffin's decision. "She did not like that one bit. She didn't care, they didn't up their offer by a penny," Griffin added. "I think I might've said something like, 'Can you meet me halfway?' And they didn't."

The View eventually hired fellow actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell to join the panel in 2006, and Griffin made another memorable impression on the show in May 2007 when she was a guest cohost shortly after O'Donnell's iconic on-air fight with Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

Despite her initial ban from appearing on The View, Griffin has continued to appear as a guest on the show in subsequent years, including a March 2024 episode. The late Barbara Walters died in 2022 at the age of 93.

In the video, Griffin also discussed her experience on The View and how she wanted to wait until she was in person with Walters to tell her why she was turning down the offer. "I want you to know why I'm going to say no. It's not that I think I'm too good for the show, it's the opposite; the show is too good for me," Griffin said. "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."

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Griffin and The View for comment on this story.