Alyssa Farah Griffin of The View called the show’s executive producer a “masochist” after pitting him against his political “enemy” Stephanie Grisham for a role on the show.
Alyssa, 34, was named the ABC show’s permanent co-host in August 2022, but made several appearances before that as part of a lengthy audition process that she described as “wild.”
During an interview on the Behind The Table podcast with the show’s executive producer Brian Teta, the political strategist spoke about the “concerns and fears” she had joining the panel as she marked a year of presence on The View, joking that she “I barely made it”.
She also opened up about her rivalry with Stephanie, 47, who also appeared as a guest host in 2022, and admitted she found it ‘so defeated’ to have to face her former White House rival for a permanent spot. at the table.
During the chat, Brian admitted Alyssa’s hiring process was “a little different” because ABC “took an entire year of open auditions” in order to find the right fit.
Alyssa Farah Griffin has opened up about her “worries and fears” about joining The View as a host.
The 34-year-old spoke during an interview on The View: Behind The Table podcast.
Alyssa jokingly called executive producer Brian Teta a “masochist” during their conversation
When asked how she found it, Alyssa replied, “First and foremost, I loved my freshman year, I can’t believe the year is over already, it just flew by . I arrived there with a million worries, worries and fears.
“It’s an iconic show, we have so many loyal viewers and I felt embraced, I felt embraced by the table and more importantly by our team.”
She continued, “But man, the audition process…I had a weird approach. There were so many amazing women, every one of them you auditioned, I thought that would have been fantastic, honestly.
She then revealed, “It’s embarrassing to admit… I watched the first time everyone became a guest host and then after that I stopped watching because I realized you would put in your head if you were trying to be someone else.
“So I would come in, I felt like I was excited about my performance, I felt like I was getting a little more comfortable with the table each time but then you go home and you don’t know…” Alyssa admitted.
“I didn’t know I was going to get the job until the very end of the season, so you were excited about the possibility, but I even tried to stop myself from going, like ‘you might end up to be a real See co-host, it was a crazy time!’
Alyssa then opened up about how difficult it was for her to compete against Stephanie for the job.
Speaking honestly to Brian, she explained, “The other auditionee I had the hardest time with was Stephanie Grisham. We had worked together in the White House and we were just, honest to God, enemies!
Stephanie Grisham appeared on The View as a guest host as part of the lengthy audition process
Brian explained that ABC “took an entire year of open auditions” in order to find the right person for the table.
Alyssa was the White House Director of Strategic Communications and Assistant to the President in 2020 under President Donald Trump.
“We didn’t get along. I think a lot of things probably had to do with outside factors and people that pitted us against each other, but it came to mind because there was this kind of rivalry that already existed.
“I would feel like I did such a great job on the show and then I would see, ‘oh, she’s coming on the show the next day,’ and it would be so defeated!”
She then joked with Brian, “You’re a masochist in the way you do that to poor women!”
Luckily, Brian saw the funny side of his comment and started laughing as Alyssa continued, “But what most people don’t know has nothing to do with the show. In the middle of audition season, She and I tuned into CNN and argued over all our issues.
“She actually addressed it and thought about it a lot and expressed that watching me, she felt like maybe what we felt about each other wasn’t right and that we let outside factors influence us, and she has become a dear friend of mine and someone who is an incredible support system for me.
She was proud of me and congratulated me when I got the job, which I think shows a lot of character and not something you see a lot in this industry.
Alyssa and Stephanie both worked at the White House a few years ago, when the latter served as White House Communications Director from July 2019 to April 2020.
She then served as chief of staff and press secretary to the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump from 2020 to 2021, having previously served as her press secretary from 2017 to 2019.
Stephanie served as Chief of Staff and Press Secretary to First Lady Melania Trump from 2020 to 2021.
Alyssa is back for season 27 of The View as a permanent host
In 2021, Stephanie released an explosive book titled I’ll Answer Your Questions Now: What I Saw in the Trump White House, in which she claimed Melania was nicknamed “Rapunzel” by the Secret Service because she left rarely the White House.
She also claimed in her book that she “was about to tell” Melania that her husband, then-President Donald Trump, had shown an “unusual interest” in a young employee, writing: “Repeatedly, I nearly told Mrs. Trump about the President’s behavior.
“I thought if she said a little word to him about it, she could put an end to it. But I could never bring myself to say anything.
In the end, she said it was too “*** chickens” to tell the then First Lady.
Or “maybe it wasn’t my place or my business,” she notes.
Meanwhile, Alyssa served as the White House’s director of strategic communications and assistant to the president in 2020 under President Donald Trump.
She resigned from her post in December of that year and has since spoken out against Trump during his appearance on The View.
In July, Alyssa was embroiled in a bitter political row with her co-host Sunny Hostin when she revealed she would not be voting for Trump or President Joe Biden in the upcoming election.
Her confession prompted Sunny, 54, to accuse her of ‘throwing away’ her vote – an allegation that left Alyssa visibly annoyed and saw fellow View panelist Sara Haines jump to her defence.
