The View has officially returned to ABC for Season 27, but the new season kicked off with one of the longtime co-hosts missing. It wasn't Sara Haines despite earlier rumors that she was leaving the show, but Whoopi Goldberg who was absent for the season premiere. After her co-hosts addressed her absence, Goldberg herself appeared in a video message with an update about her health.
Joy Behar addressed Whoopi Goldberg's absence first by revealing that her co-host is dealing with "her third bout" of COVID-19, but "she's just a little bit under the weather" thanks to being vaccinated. In her video, Goldberg provided an update on her health, looking tired but definitely with her sense of humor intact. The View co-host said:
In spite of everything you've heard – and let me just make sure you all know that it's actually me [removes mask] – see, it's me. I am not at Burning Man. I am not still in Italy. I am not, you know, doing stuff. I'm not trying to change the outcome of the election. I just have COVID... I'm still testing positive apparently. I have to have a clear test before I can come back, so it might be a couple of days, but I'm really thrilled to see the beautiful new desk. I'm really thrilled to see all the beautiful women. You girls look great. And I can't wait to get back and hang out.
Count on Whoopi Goldberg to deliver some humor to go along with a health update! The View co-host – who amusingly defended one night stands earlier this summer – debunked the wild idea that she was at Burning Man, in reference to the annual desert campout that was flooded and ended in disaster this year with attendees stranded for some time. She's just at home, waiting to recover from COVID so that she can return to The View. Goldberg also spoke about being stuck in her room, and even she had to laugh out loud at the situation:
But until then, it's me and my mask and I'm sort of confined to my room. [laughs] I've never been sent to my room like this at this age, but I've been confined to my room. But I just wanted to say hi and let everybody know that I'll be there as soon as I can and I'm sending you all great love and can't wait to get back to our favorite place: The View.
Whoopi Goldberg reassuring fans of The View while also cracking some jokes was nice to see after Season 27 had to start without her, not too long after rumors of the show's cancellation were swirling. As Joy Behar noted, this wasn't her co-host's first battle with COVID, and Goldberg had to take a break from the show back in early 2022 as well. She missed some episodes earlier this year due to what Behar described as "fighting a bad cold."
Hopefully Goldberg will recover sooner rather than later so that she can escape the confines of her room and return to The View. If you want to see the full message for yourself (as well as Behar's intro), take a look at the video below:
While it remains to be seen when Whoopi Goldberg will return to The View, new episodes will continue airing on weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC. If you can't watch the episodes live on weekday mornings, you can also find them streaming for a limited time each with a Hulu subscription. Plus, as the weather starts to cool and fall approaches, you can find what's coming to the small screen soon despite the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes with our 2023 TV schedule!
