Suzanne Somers claims she was offered — and declined — a co-hosting gig alongside “The View” creator Barbara Walters.
“I was originally asked to be on the original ‘View’ with Barbara Walters and whoever else, and I turned it down,” the actress, 76, shared during Wednesday’s episode of the “Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef” podcast.
“And everyone said, ‘Why would you turn that down? It is a national show,'” Somers recalled.
“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,'” she explained.
“But secondly, I don’t do well vying for time. And there, you gotta interrupt and butt in and butt out. It’s just not my personality.”
The “Three’s Company” star said she “walked away from that” and has “never looked back.”
Reps for ABC did not immediately respond to Pvnew’s request for comment; Walters died in December 2022 at the age of 93.
Though the pioneering journalist broke countless barriers in her 50-year career, her most prized endeavor was “The View,” which debuted in 1997.
The morning talk show, which is still airing, features a diverse cast of panelists engaging in a roundtable discussion about politics, entertainment, family and other hot topics.
After co-hosting for 17 years, Walters stepped down from the show in 2014 but remained an executive producer.
“I do not want to appear on another program or climb another mountain,” she told the Los Angeles Times when she retired. “I want to instead sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women — and OK, some men too — who will be taking my place.”
Somers, for her part, is best known for her roles in sitcoms, including “Step by Step.”
