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TV legend Kathie Lee Gifford has some big opinions.
Many things have changed.
You might be surprised by her takes on which things have remained the same, though.
One of the changes, she says, is that the panelists of The View seem “miserable” and have a “viciousness.” Oh?
Is America more divided now than it was in decades past?
If you’ve wondered what right-wing provocateur Tomi Lahren is up to these days, she’s in her brunette era and hosts a talk show for OffKick, an offshoot of Fox Sports.
Much of what she and Gifford discussed during the Wednesday, March 11 episode had to do with the 72-year-old TV legend’s book and her various Christian beliefs and how they have interwoven with her career.
But Lahren clearly had some talking points to get through — the usual ones, like “cancel culture” and divisions within America.
Gifford played ball on some topics.
When it comes to whether we’re “more divided now” than in the ’60s, she sagely quipped: “There’s just more of us.”
“There are more people now, and we’re meaner,” Gifford opined.
“People would at least pretend to have manners [back then],” she claimed. “Now, there’s a viciousness.”
The conversation circled around to The View.
Gifford recalled how she “used to be able to go on The View and talk to Joy and Whoopi, a lot of the other people.”
She added: “Debbie Matenopoulos and I are still good pals.” Matenopoulos was one of the original panelists, back in 1997.
How did she manage to get along with so many different people?
“I never had a problem with anybody,” Gifford claimed.
She explained that this was “because they weren’t trying to proselytize everything.”
Cycling back to her beliefs, Gifford went on: “I share my faith, but I don’t say, ‘You’re going to go to hell.’ I don’t do that.”
She expressed: “I want people to have a little bit more heaven in their life than hell.”
Gifford and Lohren shared that they had both had a fondness for The View of yesteryear.
“But you know what I mean then about the viciousness,” Gifford told Lahren.
“That part has changed,” she commented. “And it’s sad.”
Gifford lamented: “Everybody seems like they’re just miserable people now.”
She joked: “I may make people miserable, just talking the way we’re talking, but nobody will ever confuse me for a miserable person.”
Gifford proclaimed: “I have joy personified, the joy of the lord is your strength.”
Maybe this is just a natural consequence of current events?
Gifford is definitely striking a tone that’s a little different from how she sounded when she and Hoda Kotb were day-drinking before noon in order to keep widowed grandmas (and anyone else who watches the Today show) company.
But she is also 72. Her interests and opinions are age-appropriate, even when they are disappointing — in places.
When it comes to the tone of The View, perhaps the alleged hostility that Gifford is perceiving has more to do with current events than it does with the hosts.
It’s easy to be positive and upbeat when you’re discussing a fun, viral video or a celebrity feud.
When America’s mad king is invading and bombing multiple other countries on a whim while also terrorizing our cities and executing protestors in the street amidst a vast ethnic cleansing operation … yeah, talk show hosts are probably going to sound a little miserable.
Perhaps, when good news comes — may it happen soon — The View‘s panelists will strike a different tone.