Since 1997, many well-known women have taken turns as panelists on The View, discussing the day's "Hot Topics" and sometimes getting into it with their co-hosts. The show was the brainchild of famed journalist Barbara Walters, who had the idea for a talk show featuring women of different backgrounds and generations. Walters was one of the original co-hosts alongside Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Debbie Matenopoulos—but actor Suzanne Somers just revealed that she was also offered the chance to be part of the first panel. Read on to find out why Somers ended up turning down the opportunity.
READ THIS NEXT: Former The View Co-Host Says Her Cardiologist Told Her to Quit the Show.
Somers said people questioned her decision to turn down the show.
Kathy Hutchins / ShutterstockDuring a recent episode of the Behind the Velvet Rope podcast, Somers sat down with host David Yontef and revealed that she was offered the opportunity to be one of the first co-hosts, Page Six reported.
"I was originally asked to be on the original View with Barbara Walters and whoever else," Somers said, noting that she ended up "turning it down."
Somers said people were quick to question her decision and asked why she wouldn't want to be part of "a national show." But the Three's Company star said there were two main reasons she opted not to participate.
Somers had good reasons for saying no.
The ViewSomers explained that she didn't want to move just to be a part of The View.
"I said, 'First of all, I'd have to live in New York, and I don't really want to live in New York. I like the weather down here, and I like the vibe down here,'" Somers explained on the podcast. She currently lives in sunny Palm Springs, California.
In addition, Somers said she didn't want to compete with the other co-hosts to get a word in.
"But secondly, I said, 'I don't do well vying for time, and [on] The View, you've got to interrupt and butt in and butt out—and that's just not my personality.'"
Best Life reached out to ABC for comment on Somers' statements, but has not yet heard back.
The actor said she can be "very argumentative."
Kathy Hutchins / ShutterstockYontef was surprised by Somers' revelation, but agreed that she would likely have had to argue and "tell people why they're wrong."
"I have specific points of view," Somers said. To illustrate this, the star recounted an experience at a dinner party where she sat next to a famous wealthy man, and ended up "butting heads" about the effectiveness of bioidentical hormones, which are often used to treat symptoms of menopause.
On the podcast, Somers recounted that she stood her ground, pointing out that she's written books on hormone therapy. At the end of the evening, Somers said that the unnamed man actually told her he agreed with her, and that her explanations were "very scientific."
"If you get into my arena, I am very argumentative, without having to win," Somers said. "I was just going to let my point of view be known, and I realized I convinced him, and that's why he was so conciliatory at the end."
Yontef chimed in, saying she would've been "perfect on The View," but acknowledged that it might have been "a step back" for Somers as an entrepreneur.
Somers never changed her mind.
Kathy Hutchins / ShutterstockWhile she may have been an ideal candidate for the talk show, Somers insisted she doesn't regret her decision to skip The View. "I walked away from that, and I never looked back," she said.
Later in the interview, she added, "The View wasn't the place for me then, it's not the place for me now."
