The controversial conservative cohost said “Survivor” gave her a “great training ground” to debate Hot Topics with the ladies on the panel.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck compares The View to enduring the world’s ‘deadliest snakes’ on Survivor

The controversial conservative cohost said "Survivor" gave her a "great training ground" to debate Hot Topics with the ladies on the panel.

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

EW's editorial guidelines

March 6, 2026 11:00 a.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Rosie O'Donnell, Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck on 'The View'. Credit:

Steve Fenn / ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection

Controversial conservative personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck is closing out her week-long stint back at *The View*'s Hot Topics table with a roar.

Amid her guest cohosting gig, the 48-year-old *Survivor* alum admitted that wrangling nature's most ferocious wildlife on the CBS reality competition series helped her prepare for *The View*.

On an episode of the talk-show's companion podcast, *Behind the Table*, Hasselbeck told *View* producer Brian Teta that *Survivor* "provided great training ground" for her as a young woman, after she first competed on the series' second season in 2001.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck debates Hot Topics on 'The View'.

"What better preparation [for *The View*] than 39 out of 41 days in the Australian outback, with nine out of the 10 deadliest snakes?" Hasselbeck said with a laugh. "The prep that you'll need to get at the table of *The View* and debate Hot Topics every day for 10 years? I think *Survivor* did me well for that."

Before the late Barbara Walters hired Hasselbeck for *The View *(a job she held from 2003-2013),* *she worked at E! as a host on the series *The Look for Less *— the audition process for which served as a particular point of embarrassment for the star.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck 'felt alive' when Sunny Hostin called her out over voting for Trump

Elisabeth Hasselbeck condemns Megyn Kelly's comments on dead soldiers

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

"They asked me to bring my portfolio and my book [to the audition], so I brought *Letters to Clementine*, Winston Churchill's book," Hasselbeck said. "[They also asked me to bring] my portfolio of drawings. But, they meant photos of me. I was like, 'I don't have that!' They laughed at me. I remember sitting there and being like, 'Oh, I clearly don't belong here.'"

Hasselbeck's return to *The View* made headlines throughout the week. She and Joy Behar failed to address past drama, and as the Republican voice on the panel, Hasselbeck injected spicy energy into Hot Topics debates.

In addition to clashing with Sunny Hostin over voting for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, Hasselbeck also raised eyebrows for comparing protective COVID masks to those worn by ICE agents to conceal their identities during immigration raids.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sunny Hostin clash on 'The View'.

Elsewhere on *Behind the Table*, Hasselbeck also revealed why she'll never return to *Survivor** *despite the show's team repeatedly asking her to film another season.

"Solid no. *Solid* no, every single time," Hasselbeck explained of the answer she gives each time they come around.

She later elaborated, citing her family with NFL quarterback-turned-ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck as the main thing holding her back from *Survivor*: "I don't think I could leave the kids. I barely want to miss a [sports] game today that I know is going on."

*The View* airs weekdays on ABC.

- Celebrities & Creators

- Celebrity Feuds & Controversies

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Celebrity”