When Meghan McCain ultimately quit ABC’s The View, she was in a period of transition in her personal life. The TV personality had just become a mom for the first time, and she was due back at work at The View while she was still trying to figure out what her changed life would look like. Yet when she came back, her co-star on the series Joy Behar was reportedly not happy to see her. According to McCain, she wasn’t subtle about it either.
Megan McCain has been off of television since last summer, but she’s still made public appearances since then, recently appearing on The Commentary Magazine Podcast. She opened up about the “lack of nuance” in mainstream media in a candid interview touching on her The View experience, but also recalled exactly what the straw was that made her want to leave the daytime TV show. She said she was off on maternity leave and enjoying her life for a time, and on her first day back an interaction with Joy Behar left a sour taste in her mouth. She said:
I finally went back to the show, and the day I went back to the show, Joy Behar said on air, ‘Nobody missed you, we didn’t miss you, you shouldn’t have come back.' And I just, I started hysterically crying. Sorry gentlemen, I know, I started lactating on air, and like crying and hysterical. I was super hormonal. I went to my office and I vomited. I called my brother who lives in [sic] Arizona on a farm and he said, 'f these people. It's not worth it. It's no longer worth it.' That was it. When Joy said on air when I came back from maternity leave, 'Nobody missed you.' I didn't feel supported when I had my baby and I didn't feel supported coming back. And that was it.
This is actually a publicly documented experience. When Meghan McCain returned from maternity leave on The View, she and Joy Behar got into a spat during an episode that was publicized at the time. During the conversation, which happened to be about whether or not there should be more than two political parties, Meghan McCain joked, ‘You missed me so much Joy.” Behar then deadpanned:
I did not. I did not miss you. Zero.
As part of the new interview, McCain also opened up about another comment made on The View "on air, on camera" about how "the only thing I would ever breastfeed is a cactus." She says this was after she said she'd suffered miscarriages, which her co-hosts allegedly knew about.
What Else Meghan McCain Has Said About Leaving The View
The above incident occurred in January of 2021, six months before MCCain ultimately announced her exit from the show. When she did ultimately leave, Meghan McCain noted a changing world due to COVID and motherhood as reasons behind her exit. She did not call out Joy Behar’s comment as she did here, instead saying:
I left the city very quickly because my OB GYN wanted me to leave, because he wasn't sure about how COVID could possibly impact pregnant women. I came to the DC area which is where my husband and I split time, and it's where I grew up splitting time. And we have this incredible life here. We're surrounded by my family, by his family by friends, by this incredible support unit. And I think as any new mom knows, when I think about where I want to have her first steps and her first words, I just have this really wonderful life here that, ultimately, I felt like I didn't want to leave.
Over the last year, The View has continued to maintain a conservative slot on the panel of hosts. However, until recently no replacement for Meghan McCain had been announced. Instead, the show only began really starting to push for a permanent The View replacement early last month, with Elisabeth Hasselbeck landing the gig after previously being fired from the show. During her first episode this week, abortion and other heated topics were discussed.
For her part, Meghan McCain has been open about feeling like she worked in a toxic space and that she had trouble being "produced" by someone who didn't get her or her beliefs. To note, ABC executives have alleged The View issues were instigated by the former co-host herself. Yet the former TV personality notes that her time on the show was still notable for myriad reasons, including The View's ratings.
I’m in such a weird position because I was on this show that a lot of people know and a lot of people watch, though a lot less people watch since I left, but whatever. I’m one of two hosts in the history of 25 years to leave on their own and quit and not be fired, which is something people are very interested in.
We'll have to see what's next for Meghan McCain, but the show has continued trucking on without her. It's been in hot water recently too, after View co-hosts were sent a cease and desist letter over comments made on the air. No one would accuse the BTS workings on this show of being boring.
