Anybody who’s ever watched Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and the rest of the co-hosts on The View knows that they’re not afraid to speak their minds, even if what they say ruffles the feathers of the women sitting alongside them. Savannah Chrisley was all too aware of this — as well as the “public bashing” her parents had received from the co-hosts — when she appeared as a guest host last week. Now, she’s opening up about how things actually went down.
With Alyssa Farah Griffin on maternity leave, The View is bringing in several guest hosts, including Savannah Chrisley, who starred with her family on reality series like Chrisley Knows Best. Her parents, Todd and Julie, spent time in federal prison for tax evasion and bank fraud before receiving presidential pardons from President Trump last May — a move criticized by the co-hosts at the time. Following her appearance on the show, Savannah said on the Behind the Table podcast that she’d been ready for a fight, telling The View’s executive producer Brian Teta:
I came into this with some ideas of what was going to happen. I thought Whoopi and Joy were going to be a pain in my ass and just these mean women. And I was wrong…. Yes, I was wrong, and I went into this, and it goes to show, stop judging.
While The View is bringing back some “controversial” guest hosts like Elisabeth Hasselbeck in Alyssa Farah Griffin’s absence, the co-hosts have something of a “toxic mean girl reputation” for how they treat those whose political views don’t align with theirs. In fact, it’s shocking how seldomly The View even invites conservative guests onto the show.
However, Savannah Chrisley said her experience made her realize she shouldn’t judge these women based on 37-minute episodes or the 15-second clips taken out of context and put out on social media. In fact, she ended up getting along quite well with Joy Behar, as she said:
Joy and I had a blast off camera. I mean, she’s hysterical, and she was asking me about my parents. She was like, ‘What did they go to prison for?’ I go, ‘Joy, you should know. You called them “tax cheats.”’... It’s the funniest thing, though. Like, you literally tell her something, and she talks about it, and then she forgets it.
This sounds a lot like how Whoopi Goldberg wakes up so incensed every day, letting all of her opinions out on the show and then shutting it down until tomorrow.
Savannah Chrisley admitted she was nervous at the prospect of being the only conservative at the table alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, but it was actually Sunny Hostin who challenged her the most about her parents’ pardons. Chrisley said they “didn’t have words,” exactly, but there was “a little hostility” from the former federal prosecutor during a commercial break.
However, the next day Savannah Chrisley said Sunny Hostin admitted she hadn’t understood some things about Todd and Julie’s case, and Savannah apologized for getting defensive.
In the end, the Growing Up Chrisley star was proud of the fact that she and the View co-hosts were able to have conversations with each other and find common ground, despite their opposing political views.
Political commentator and former CNN regular Amanda Carpenter will be the next guest co-host filling in on The View, so tune in at 11 a.m. ET Monday, February 23, on ABC to hear everyone’s commentary on the latest hot topics.
