Gifford said she’s noticed a “viciousness” and “miserable people” in media.

Kathie Lee Gifford criticizes current version of The View: ‘Used to be able to’ go on

Gifford said she's noticed a "viciousness" and "miserable people" in media.

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March 11, 2026 11:00 a.m. ET

Whoopi Goldberg, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Joy Behar. Credit:

ABC/JEFF LIPSKY (2); Terry Wyatt/Getty

Former morning television queen Kathie Lee Gifford has sensed a disturbance in contemporary media — particularly on *The View*.

In a new conversation with divisive conservative personality Tomi Lahren, the 72-year-old *Live* and *Today* alum spoke out against the current status of broadcast TV, saying she's noticed a marked change in the disposition of those on the small screen now versus at the height of her popularity. When the host asked Gifford if she thinks "we're more divided now," Gifford replied, "There's just more of us."

"There are more people now, and we're meaner," she said. "People would at least pretend to have manners [back then]. Now, there's a viciousness."

Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg for 'The View'.

Jeff Lipsky/ABC

Gifford added that she "used to be able to go on *The View* and talk to Joy [Behar] and Whoopi [Goldberg], a lot of the other people."

"Debbie Matenopoulos and I are still good pals," she said, referencing one of the OG panelists who helped launch the show with Barbara Walters in 1997.

"I never had a problem with anybody, because they weren't trying to proselytize everything," Gifford said. "I share my faith, but I don't say, 'You're going to go to hell.' I don't do that. I want people to have a little bit more heaven in their life than hell."

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Lahren then revealed that she thinks *The View* is "a much different show" than it was when she was younger and a viewer, and that "ABC in general is a much different network" than it was in the early '00s.

"But you know what I mean then about the viciousness," Gifford said. "That part has changed. And it's sad. Everybody seems like they're just miserable people now. I may *make* people miserable, just talking the way we're talking, but nobody will ever confuse me for a miserable person. I have joy personified, the joy of the lord is your strength."

** has reached out to a representative for *The View *for comment.

Gifford isn't the only celebrity to publicly speak out against *The View*'s current lineup. In addition to Elisabeth Hasselbeck publicly calling out Behar in January 2025 and former cohost Meghan McCain regularly slamming the show, on Monday, Oscar-winning actress Mo'Nique called out Goldberg over a 2018 interaction they had during an interview on the talk show.

"The worst part is that another woman chastised me on a platform meant to empower women," Mo'Nique said in an open letter addressed to Goldberg, in which she referenced an on-air moment that saw Goldberg push back against the star's long-voiced claim that the team behind the 2009 movie *Precious* wanted her to promote the project more than she was contractually obligated to.

Watch Gifford discuss* The View* in the episode above.

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