Following Meghan McCain's departure in July, The View has been filling the post with a circulating slate of temporary co-hosts. Pundits such as Caitlyn Jenner, Condoleezza Rice, and Eboni K. Williams have already sat down at the iconic table as co-hosts for Season 25, with others like Gretchen Carlson and Southern Charm’s Cameron Eubanks still to come. The running theory is that ABC is testing out the new blood to see who will be the best fit for permanent hosting duties. And Eboni K. Williams, now a tried-and-true alum of The Real Housewives of New York, is already pitching her case.
Though the conversations on The View are just that, conversations, the hosting gig is still very much a job. Former co-host and Fuller House star Candace Cameron Bure actually stated that it was kind of a traumatic, demanding job, due to the intense pressure and sometimes sensitive nature of the group’s topics. As a result, it has been speculated that if chosen as a permanent host, Eboni K. Williams would have to choose between starring on Real Housewives or the ABC talk show. In an interview with ET Online, however, she claims this is not the case:
I would not choose. And I will tell you, from inside The View conversation, they would be extremely supportive of me bringing my experience as a Housewife. That's a very unique experience that is culturally relevant. I mean, the very first 'Hot Topic' we discussed on The View is that Washington Post article about, what does reality TV owe Black women? So, I think the opportunity for cross amplification is massive and my dream is to do both.
Eboni K. Williams has been criticized by both her Bravo castmates and some fans for bringing up race “too much” on the reality show. But while co-hosting The View on October 18, Williams spoke frankly that by being the Real Housewives of New York’s first Black castmate, she was offering a perspective of “Black womanhood” that is different than what that space normally holds. She also stated that reality TV is “built on the backs of Black women” and owes them the opportunity to change the stereotypes about who they are.
Despite the controversial freshman season, the star gave Bravo some credit when discussing the RHNY on The View, particularly for hiring her out of all women, knowing her background and political views in the first place. Ironically, Meghan McCain herself left The View after a wave of heated arguments with co-hosts about controversial topics. McCain recently claimed that the show was "extremely isolating." Nevertheless, Williams still sees the permanent hosting spot on as the pinnacle of daytime talk show opportunities. She said:
It's the dream job, it is. Ever since I was 12 years old, and I always wanted to be an attorney, so seeing Star Jones in that seat and showing what one could do on a national platform, with that background of law and social justice, integrating it with politics and pop culture, from a woman's perspective, it was an honor.
As for Real Housewives of New York, the Season 13 reunion special was cancelled, but Eboni K. Williams has “unfinished business.” She claims to have made peace already with Luann de Lesseps and is still on good terms with co-star Leah McSweeney. But there was seemingly no closure for what others shadily said in their confessionals about the newcomer.
It would certainly be a first for a Real Housewives star to juggle Bravo’s variety of drama alongside The View’s. But if ever there was someone to do it, and do it right, it would be Eboni K. Williams.
