FOX News star Harris Faulkner has broken her silence on her network’s bitter ratings battle with The View.
The anchor slammed the ABC talk show for its aggressive approach and called out her rival Sunny Hostin by name after an on-air experience that left a sour taste in her mouth.
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Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner on Outnumbered in New York City on April 18, 2024Credit: Getty
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The View host Sunny Hostin at the show’s Behind the Table podcast taping at 92NY in New York City on October 8, 2024Credit: Getty
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Former The View hosts Sara Haines, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Meghan McCain, and Sunny Hostin in March 2018Credit: Getty
Faulkner, 59, blasted the hosts of The View in a triumphant slam dunk after her Fox News show, The Faulkner Focus, beat out its competitor for the first time in January ratings by over 40,000 viewers.
“On The View, there is this sort of, shout it, cuss it, do whatever you gotta do to get a little more attention around the hot topics,” Faulkner told the Daily Mail.
She said the show has gone downhill since it had “powerhouse journalists” like Barbara Walters.
“But now I don’t really know what the show is, apart from talk, talk, talk – a lot of combativeness,” she said, adding the hosts have “vitriol.”
Faulkner also called out Hostin for her fiery remarks on the show.
“I’ve seen Sunny Hostin read so many apologies on the air recently for the legal exposure of some of the things that she and others have said on the show,” Faulkner said.
“That’s dicey.”
The anchor opened up about an awkward experience she had with Hostin when she appeared on The View in 2018 to promote her book.
She said Hostin, who is Black and Puerto Rican, made remarks about her marriage to media professional Tony Berlin.
Faulkner is Black and her husband is white.
“Sunny Hostin came after me,” Faulkner told the Daily Mail.
“They had put a picture of my biracial children on a huge digital wall behind me, and she took the conversation to race.
“I knew my kids would be watching.”
Faulkner and Berlin have two daughters named Bella, born in 2006, and Danika, born in 2009.
The View is an American talk show airing on ABC from 11am-12pm EST, Monday through Friday. It features a diverse group of women that discuss the day’s “Hot Topics”, ranging from hard-hitting news to celebrity gossip. The six co-hosts include:
Thankfully, Faulkner said The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg changed the topic back to her book launch.
She said Fox News’ “superpower” is that it’s live, while The View is pre-recorded.
She also said it’s crucial to have guests with different perspectives.
“I think that’s difficult to do if you only see the world myopically, and that’s the feeling that I get when I watch other shows, The View as an example,” Faulkner said.
“That isn’t to say that they don’t have people on with different opinions, but the shouting is coming from the left on that show.”
LOOKING BACK AT THE 2018 APPEARANCE
Video of Faulkner’s appearance on The View in June 2018 shows Hostin asking the Fox News personality if she feels a “certain responsibility to the Black community.”
“I feel a responsibility to everyone,” Faulkner replied, prompting applause from the audience.
“Because my daughters are biracial.”
When Faulkner mentioned her daughters, the show projected a picture of her family on the screen.
She then spoke about her experience as one of the only Black women who anchors on the network.
On The View, there is this sort of, shout it, cuss it, do whatever you gotta do to get a little more attention around the hot topics.”
Harris Faulkner
Faulkner joined Fox News in 2005.
On top of anchoring The Faulkner Focus, she also recently celebrated 10 years of hosting the Fox News afternoon program Outnumbered.
The Faulkner Focus ended last month with an average total of 2,552,000 viewers, beating out The View’s 2,508,00 in a shocking upset.
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Faulkner, whose show The Faulkner Focus had better ratings than The View in JanuaryCredit: Getty
