The View’s Ana Navarro seemingly threw some shade at Alyssa Farah Griffin when handing out gifts to her cohosts.
On the Friday, January 5, episode of the ABC talk show, Navarro, 52, celebrated her recent birthday by presenting Griffin, Joy Behar, Sara Haines and Sunny Hostin with pouches emblazoned with African animals.
“I was thinking of you all,” Navarro said as she began to hand out the gifts. When Behar, 81, said she wanted the bag with the elephant design, Navarro replied, “Actually, the elephant is for Alyssa.”
Haines, 46, received a giraffe because she’s a “head and shoulders above the rest,” while Hostin, 55, was given a leopard for her “bougie” personality and Behar was bestowed a zebra because she doesn’t “change her stripes.” Navarro’s animal for Griffin, however, appeared to be a little less complimentary.
Since The View premiered in August 1997, more than 20 women have had permanent roles as cohosts on the ABC morning talk show. The series, which was created by Barbara Walters, features a multi-generational panel that conducts interviews and discusses the news of the day, ranging from politics to entertainment. The original lineup was comprised […]
“You get the elephant, because, God knows, it’s a work in progress,” she quipped to her fellow Republican cohost.
Griffin, 34, who made guest appearances on The View in 2021 and 2022, nabbed a permanent seat at the table for season 26, replacing Meghan McCain in August 2022. Since joining the show, Griffin and Navarro have had their fair share of tense moments, often clashing over differing perspectives during the show’s Hot Topics segment.
Their most recent on-air scuffle came in September 2023, when a clip went viral that seemingly showed Griffin rolling her eyes while Navarro talked about attending Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour in New Orleans. Navarro later reposted a video of the moment via X with a caption that read, “So did anyone peep Alyssa’s annoyed look when Ana mentioned going to the Beyoncé concert in New Orleans? Then she caught herself.”
Navarro, for her part, added a shrugging emoji above the clip.
The pair also found themselves at odds one year prior, when they went head-to-head during a conversation about toxicity in the workplace.
“I can’t really get a word in without you attacking me,” Griffin told Navarro during the December 2022 episode. “So, I wouldn’t say this is a totally different environment of women supporting each other.” Navarro, meanwhile, responded by taking a drink from her mug and saying, “Oh, I haven’t attacked you yet.”
Both Navarro and Griffin are Republicans, but Navarro has been known to critique her party and has made appearances on CNN over the years. Griffin, meanwhile, worked for former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence during their time in the White House before she officially resigned in December 2020.
Griffin is not the first Republican to find herself in the hot seat with her cohosts. McCain, 39, has been candid about her grievances since departing the show, telling Variety in October 2021 that The View’s “toxic work environment” is what led to her departure.
“My take on the problems of The View are that it’s a show with a lot of demons that started in the beginning, and none of those demons have been exorcized,” she told the outlet at the time.
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During a December 2023 episode of her “You’re Welcome” podcast, Meghan, who is the daughter of late senator John McCain, claimed that the talk show has made it hard for her to move on by continuously bringing up or alluding to her name.
“The thing about The View is that I didn’t know when I signed my contract with ABC that this is forever, that, for the rest of my life, I’m going to be bullied, yelled at, abused and brought up for years,” she explained. “I haven’t been on that show in years. And I’m just trying to live my life.”
