ABC’s The View has welcomed a number of notable stars to the iconic desk over the years and, after their tenures are done, some occasionally reflect on them. Those sentiments can certainly vary and, this past week, former panelist Rosie O’Donnell shared sentiments regarding former co-star Whoopi Goldberg. O’Donnell, who had two stints on the show between 2006 and 2015, claimed that Goldberg tried to prevent Bill Cosby’s rape allegations from being discussed on air. Goldberg herself has yet to respond to the claims, yet fellow series vet Meghan McCain is now backing O’Donnell up.
Bill Cosby’s sexual assault allegations received much media attention when they began to surface in the 2010s. However, during an appearance on Now What? With Brooke Shields, Rosie O’Donnell suggested that Whoopi Goldberg was able to use her behind-the-scenes influence to minimize coverage on The View. Now a columnist for The Daily Mail, Meghan McCain addressed the comments in a piece that was recently published:
Rosie said two things that immediately resonated with me when I listened to her remarks. One had to do with the topics that we were allowed to discuss on the show. The other - how people were treated. … Media icon Barbara Walters co-created 'The View' with producer Bill Geddie to be a show about real women respectfully talking about real issues. Sadly, in my experience, it never came close to that.
It should be made clear that that media personality didn’t actually co-sign on coverage of Bill Cosby’s case specifically being diminished. What she more so seems to be referring to is the notion that some topics in general were allegedly just left off the docket in general. She later mentioned that Whoopi Goldberg did eventually weigh in once evidence started mounting against the embattled comic. However, the Fox News contributor still takes issue with one aspect of this purported situation:
But, if what Rosie claims is true, this is extremely troubling. Whoopi's belief in due process and change of heart isn't the problem. The problem is when powerful people with a platform use their megaphones to protect their interests. And it rang true to me. I've never revealed this before, but I was also pushed off topics that I thought were newsworthy by show producers.
Meghan McCain hasn’t held back on discussing The View since she left the show back in 2021. In more recent instances, McCain’s new gig has provided her with a forum in which she can break down her thoughts. She also gave a lengthy interview later that same year, in which she dropped alleged details on her exit and backstage drama. ABC later clapped back at McCain’s claim that her co-stars created a toxic workplace environment.
Though she hasn’t been quite as vocal, Rosie O’Donnell has discussed her gripes with the daytime staple. During that same interview with Brooke Shields, she discussed other topics, including her past feud with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
In her column, Meghan McCain acknowledged that she and Rosie O’Donnell “probably don't agree on much” but are “in sync” in this case. They’ve also both asserted that they would not return to The View if asked. With this new alleged information regarding Whoopi Goldberg now floating around, you can’t help but wonder if either she or ABC will feel compelled to respond.
