‘I Felt Like I Was Losing My Mind’: After Meghan McCain Slammed Ana Navarro’s Comments On The View, She Opened Up About Her Experience

screenshot the view meghan mccain
(Image credit: ABC)

It’s no secret now that Meghan McCain parted ways with The View after four years on bad terms. The political author has shared her opinion of ABC’s popular daytime talk show several times over the years for the toxic work environment she experienced and the way the co-hosts have continued to “demonize her” since she left. After tensions were raised again regarding a comment on the show from Ana Navarro, McCain gave more insight into her experience on The View.

Meghan McCain slammed Ana Navarro’s recent musing that The View co-hosts have used their relatives’ names to “influence-peddle.” While Navarro didn’t name any names, the daughter of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain took the comment as a direct attack against her, even threatening legal action. In an episode of The Janice Dean Podcast released December 17, McCain spoke more about how her circumstances impacted her negative experience on The View. She said: 

In that time when I felt like I was losing my mind and having a really hard time emotionally, impacted by the fact that, like, my dad was dying of brain cancer, I was having fertility issues. There was just a lot happening in my life, as well as going into this work environment that just felt really hostile. I called you [Janice Dean] many times after the show crying.

In addition to dealing with what was happening with her father, she also had her own health to think about. She said: 

I had two miscarriages, I had a lot of stress and trauma. I was working at The View at the time I got pregnant and it was, to put it nicely, not an environment that I think is healthy to be pregnant in. And I was really scared and freaked out.

Meghan McCain has spoken out over the past couple of years about what she endured, as she was at the time the only conservative voice among The View’s co-hosts. She has spoken about rumors being leaked to the media about her, and since she left she said she is continuously bashed by her former colleagues. She continued: 

I’ve really tried to close the door and move on as much as I possibly can, but the hardest part for me about The View is that it has felt like — and I know this sounds dramatic — but it really has felt kind of like leaving a cult, in the sense that, like, when you leave, I am just trashed all the time by people who work there.

Meghan McCain said she just wants to move on, which is exactly what she said in response to Ana Navarro’s “influence-peddle” comments, accusing those on The View of continuing to “slander me on an almost weekly basis.” 

Neither Ana Navarro nor any of the other co-hosts appear to have responded to McCain’s most recent comments, but you can tune in to The View weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC to see what hot topics they are covering. Also be sure to check out our 2024 TV schedule to see what’s headed our way in the new year.

Heidi Venable
Content Producer

Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.