Paula Faris Opens Up About Rumored Rift with Whoopi Goldberg on The View in New Book

The View is known for its hot takes and rousing debates — a reputation that often put former co-host Paula Faris at odds with the panel.

In her new memoir Called Out: Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs for a Life of True Calling — which is out now — the ABC News journalist, 44, reflects on her time on the daytime talk series.

“I began to realize there was a growing disconnect between my amazing co-hosts (all of whom I still love) and me,” she writes. “The network had a set of expectations. My co-hosts had another set of expectations. I was caught in the middle and unsure of how to square the two.”

Speaking to PEOPLE, Faris explains she found it increasingly difficult to participate in the show’s discussions, which cover everything from pop culture to politics.

“The View was challenging not just because you have to have thick skin to be a co-host, but it was challenging in the sense that I had a news career simultaneously,” she says. “I was trying to maintain my objectivity but was also trying to appease an audience that’s used to, and should expect, strong opinions from its co-hosts.”

Faris also sets the record straight on a speculated rift between her and former co-host Whoopi Goldberg.

In Called Out, Faris details the shock and hurt she felt reading headlines about her departure from The View, which came out while she was covering the 2016 Republican National Convention. “I muscled my way through the rest of the convention and cried myself all the way back to New York,” she writes.

At the time, Goldberg responded to the stories in a series of tweets, writing: “I am not responsible for firing or moving people around or negotiating my co-workers’ contracts.”

The former co-hosts have a great relationship, Faris tells PEOPLE.

“When my father passed away, she was one of the first people to reach out and ask how I was doing,” Faris reveals. “She sent my family a big platter of food!”

She continues: “Whoopi is a loyalist, and once you’re in her corner, you’re not going to go anywhere. She will fiercely defend you, and I feel like that’s where the two of us are today. I’m really grateful to have worked next to somebody of her stature.”

Faris says she hopes Called Out — a deeply personal book that goes into how her Christian faith has anchored her throughout her career, health scares and other challenges — will help people explore their own identities.

“I hope the book encourages people to really root into what their true, unshakeable purpose and calling is so that when a personal or global crisis comes, they still know who they are,” she says.

Source: Read Full Article