Joy Behar Finally Speaks Out About Her Absence From The View

Legendary journalist Barbara Walters created the morning talk show "The View" in 1997, and it's been a hit ever since. The show combines entertainment, news, and opinion with a panel of female co-hosts. Over the years, the audience for "The View" has seen a fair amount of controversy and arguments, particularly since the show doesn't shy away from hot-button topics and has co-hosts specifically chosen to present a diverse set of viewpoints, via The Post. The co-hosts of "The View" have changed over the years, but one mainstay has been Joy Behar. 

She was there in the beginning and is still part of the show today. Behar told People why she felt the show has done so well and been on the air for so long: "You have a bunch of women who speak their minds and enjoy the blowback. That's our stock-in-trade." Since Behar has been on the air for such a long time, people took note when she was missing from several shows this month. 

Whoopi Goldberg had her own tongue-in-cheek explanation as to why Behar was gone. Now we have a real explanation from Behar herself.

Joy Behar was missing from "The View" without any forewarning for several episodes, but she was back July 18. The show started with discussion of her absence, and the hosts noted that people had been writing into the show asking about her (via YouTube). Behar revealed that she stayed home after getting a "fairly strong virus." She quickly noted that it wasn't COVID-19, which she's never had; she took five negative PCR tests while sick. Behar also said that while she was sick — so sick that she "didn't eat for four days" — that her husband took care of her and her dog stayed at her side. It's so good to see her back on the air and healthy!

Behar's been off the show before. In 2013, she went from being a full-time co-host to a guest co-host for two years. "They got rid of a Republican so they wanted to get rid of a Democrat," she told People in 2017. The move came after the show let go of conservative Elizabeth Hasselbeck. She came back full-time in 2015. But Behar was almost fired entirely before 2013. In 2006, Behar spilled the beans about Rosie O'Donnell joining the show, and Walters called her out for it, per Entertainment Weekly. Walters threatened to not renew Behar's contract, saying that Behar was "a loose cannon." 

Thankfully, they clearly managed to patch things up.