Joy Behar Has Rejected an Offer to Return to The View!

"They've come to me, and we couldn't make a deal," the former co-host says

By Zach Johnson Jul 30, 2015 12:03 PMTags
Joy BeharBOB D'AMICO/ABC

Sherri Shepherd has reportedly closed a deal with ABC to return to The View for its 19th season, and it seems she may be the only former co-host to do so. In an interview with WBAZ's Walker Vreeland, Joy Behar—who left the morning talk show in 2013 after 16 seasons—said she was approached about the possibility of returning this fall. "They've come to me, and we couldn't make a deal," the funny lady said. (ABC, for what it's worth, has not confirmed that Shepherd will return.)

Still, there is hope. "We'll see how it goes," Behar said.

Asked about rumors that executive producer Barbara Walters was pushing for Behar's return, she said matter-of-factly, "Don't believe everything you read."

Why did Behar decline ABC's offer? "They wouldn't really negotiate well enough for me, and so I said, 'No, I'm not coming to you.' If they would give me a bigger role on the show and give me some power to...make some changes and let them benefit from my expertise after being there for 16 years...But they're not going to do that," she said. "So why would I want to bang my head against the wall?"

Asked about today's lineup, she said, "I think it's in flux."

Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace are wrapping up their first and only season, while Michelle Collins and Raven-Symoné joined Whoopi Goldberg as permanent co-hosts this summer. New additions are expected to be named soon.

Behar still hears about alleged behind the scenes drama from her "friends" and "spies" who continue to work on the show. "You have to understand something about me: I'm a friendly girl. I'm not out to get anybody. And because I used to work behind the scenes as a receptionist at a television show, Good Morning America...I identify with the little guy. I don't identify with the power structure," the comedienne said, adding, "We're all pals, and anything they know, they tell me."

Regarding her own exit from The View, Behar—who was briefly fired in 2006 for announcing Rosie O'Donnell had been hired—said, "It was a fairly mutual decision and I'm not always sure exactly why that happened. I was ready to go. I was ready to go. I had had enough. I think that somebody—I can't mention names—made the decision to change the show for some reason. So Elisabeth Hasselbeck and I both had to leave. There was a decision made at some level. I'm really not looking to say who or why because I don't know 100 percent the truth of that."