Weekday mornings on ABC will likely never be completely peaceful and free from strife, but it seems clear that The View has been at the center of fewer “backstage troubles” headlines as of late. Many factors could play into that, but it’s likely that Meghan McCain’s 2021 departure is responsible as anything else, given how often she was involved in the allegations being thrown around during her four-year tenure. Whoopi Goldberg herself has come out and said things have indeed been a bit less stressful in the last year on The Voice’s set.
Given the fact that Goldberg and McCain were known to go at it on The View every so often, it’s perhaps not so shocking that the Star Trek vet hasn’t spent the past year mourning the conservative co-host’s exit. When asked how things have been going on the chat show, Goldberg told Page Six:
It’s calmer because nobody wants to be that tired every day.
Ever the comedian — at least outside of pop culture racial bias and other hot button issues — Whoopi Goldberg opined that The View feels more relaxed now without the ever-present potential for sparks to fly behind the scenes. Which isn’t to say that all of the show’s feuding ties back to Meghan McCain, since that’s certainly not the case. But there’s no doubt less of an ominous feeling when it comes to things going haywire with the newest full-time co-hosts Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro.
Goldberg even alluded to The View’s fraught history in pointing out (in the vaguest of terms) why McCain’s absence has had a positive impact.
We’ve always had disagreements and stuff, but this one was a little bit different. I think [the show], it’s better. I feel it’s better, but I’m still tired!
Even if Whoopi Goldberg's career only consisted of moderting the hectic discussions on The View, it'd still be understandable why the gig can be so tiring. But she's been as busy as ever outside of the chat show scene, from reprising her Star Trek role for Picard to bringing an evolved Sister Delores back for Sister Act 3 to joining the cast of Neil Gaiman’s upcoming Netflix series Anansi Boys. Not to mention the fact that she was being interviewed for the New York Film Festival premiere of her latest feature, the drama Till, a film that inspired one critic to incorrectly assume that Goldberg was wearing a fat suit for her performance, a detail she was quick to correct on The View itself.
But despite the on-air spats and comments made in interviews and memoirs, Goldberg says that antagonistic energy didn't actually carry on after the cameras stopped rolling. In her words:
People felt like they wanted to go home. There was no point in fighting. You do what you do and you go home and do what you love to do. And hopefully, everybody is now happier.
Beyond sharing some respectful words about Sunny Hostin, Meghan McCain hasn't shared very many positive thoughts about her time on The View, so it probably goes without saying that she's happier with the way things are going now.
The View airs weekday mornings on ABC at 11:00 p.m. ET, and can be streamed the next day with a Hulu subscription. Head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what else is hitting the small screen soon.
