The co-hosts of ABC's The View are certainly no strangers to controversy, especially when it comes to how they sometimes get their...views across to each other during broadcasts of the long-running, live daily talk show. There have been some epic arguments on screen which almost always lead to rumors of behind-the-scenes turmoil among the ladies of The View. But, Whoopi Goldberg is here to tell you that there's nothing to worry about when it comes to all that fighting.
Whoopi Goldberg appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers recently (with her magnificent grey dreads still in full effect), and spoke to Meyers about the battles that we've seen happen on The View. According to Goldberg, not only is there no reason to fear that the co-hosts are being torn apart by their conflicting views, but we'd all know it if there were really reason to be worried. Here's what she had to say:
Listen, I’ve been there for almost ten years, and everybody has what they need to do. And folks – when it’s women – they say, ‘Oh, they’re fighting. They’re doing it.’ If we were fighting, you’d actually know it. Okay, because we’re old broads. We’re like pow [punches the air]! We’re not like, ‘Stop it. You’re so mean to me.’ We don’t do [that]. We would slap you into next week. So if we were truly fighting, there would be issues. But you know, it is living with other people who are not you. They think differently, and they want to say different stuff, and I figure that’s okay. They’re trying to do their gig, too. Because after all, this is our day job…where they are paying us…for our opinions. So that’s what we do
Well, there you have it. Official word from The View co-host in good standing, Whoopi Goldberg, that there is no actual fighting going on between herself or any of her fellow hosts. I'm going to break down what she said further in a bit, but I have to say first that, if a real, live fist fight of any kind (POW!) did break out on The View, it would be all that anyone could talk about for weeks on end. Also? The ratings for this show would skyrocket. 100% truth. OK, moving on...
Whoopi Goldberg certainly has the point of view (ha ha) of an authority when it comes to what all that televised yelling does to the hosts' interpersonal relationships when the cameras are off. While she said in her chat with Seth Meyers that she's been on The View for "almost 10 years," she's actually been around as a co-host since Season 11, which began in the fall of 2007. So, she's really spent 12 years immersed in the culture of the show. Obviously, this means that Goldberg would know if these heated testimonials that we see on the show led to backstage fights of any kind.
But, Goldberg's main point boils down to something that really makes a lot of sense. All of the hosts have been hired to give their opinions on the important topics of the day, and because many of these issues are very personal to a lot of people, sometimes things get heated. And, this is generally what happens anytime someone is confronted with different opinions on matters that mean a lot to them. But, everyone is there to do a job and they all know that at the end of the day.
Also, as Whoopi Goldberg mentioned, because we're talking about a group of women who start fighting, that fact alone makes a lot of people see their verbal sparring as more than it really is.
The fact is that these differing opinions are what have made the show so lively and popular for 23 seasons. I doubt The View would have been able to stay relevant for so long if each co-host felt exactly the same about every topic. Joy Behar, another longtime co-host, recently said that the chemistry between the group is what keeps them on the air, so clearly they're doing this right.
All in all, Goldberg would like us to know that things could be much worse between herself and co-hosts Behar, Sunny Hostin, Meghan McCain (who, FYI, is no fan of being booed by the audience) and Abby Huntsman, and we all need to get a hobby if we're spending time worrying about them.
Sometimes, it gets heated. But I’ve had fights with husbands and lovers, and all kinds of stuff, that have gone way further. Find something else to do. We can’t be the thing that keeps you up at night. That TV show is not what you should be concerned about.
Here, here, Whoopi! Well spoken as always. You can keep up with all of the rousing discourse when The View airs Monday-Friday on ABC at 11 a.m. EST.
