Kathie Lee Gifford believes the tone on daytime television — especially on The View — has changed dramatically over the years, and not for the better.
The longtime TV personality, 72, shared her thoughts during a recent appearance on the Tomi Lahren Is Fearless podcast, where she said today’s media landscape feels far more hostile and divisive than it once did.
During the conversation, host Tomi Lahren asked Gifford whether she believes Americans are more divided now than in the past. Gifford didn’t hesitate to answer.
“There’s just more of us — and we’re meaner now,” she said. “People used to at least pretend to have some manners. Now there’s just a viciousness.”
Gifford specifically pointed to The View, saying the atmosphere on the daytime talk show feels far more combative today than when she appeared on the program in earlier years.
“I used to be able to go on The View and talk to Joy [Behar] and Whoopi [Goldberg] and the others,” she said. “Debbie Matenopoulos and I are still good pals. I never had a problem with anybody back then.”
She suggested the difference may come from how conversations are handled today, explaining that she has always tried to share her beliefs without forcing them on others.
“I share my faith, but I don’t say, ‘You’re going to go to hell if you don’t,’” Gifford said. “I don’t do that. I want people to have a little more heaven in their life than hell.”
Looking at the broader television landscape, Gifford said she believes negativity has become far more common across many programs.
“Everybody seems like they’re just miserable people now,” she said. “I may make people miserable just talking the way we’re talking, but nobody will ever confuse me with a miserable person.”
“I have joy personified,” she added.
The View, which debuted in 1997, remains one of the most talked-about daytime talk shows on television. The current panel includes Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, Sara Haines, and Alyssa Farah Griffin.
Over the years, the program has frequently made headlines for fiery debates and on-air clashes between hosts.
One of the most notable exits came in 2021 when former co-host Meghan McCain left the show following a tense moment involving Behar. McCain later revealed that a comment made on air played a role in her decision to walk away.
“I finally went back to the show, and the day I went back, Joy Behar said on air, ‘Nobody missed you, we didn’t miss you, you shouldn’t have come back,’” McCain said during a 2022 appearance on The Commentary Magazine Podcast.
McCain said the remark came shortly after returning from maternity leave.
“I didn’t feel supported when I had my baby, and I didn’t feel supported coming back,” she explained. “That was ultimately it. That was why I left.”
While The View continues to spark passionate debate among viewers, Gifford made it clear she prefers a different tone — one she believes has become harder to find on modern television.
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Nothing but a bunch of old cows