Whoopi Goldberg is glad that her former co-host, Meghan McCain, is no longer on "The View."
In a Saturday interview with Page Six, Goldberg opened up about the new — and enjoyable — sense of peace on the show's set following McCain's departure, saying, "It's calmer because nobody wants to be that tired every day."
McCain, the daughter of late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), joined "The View" in October 2017 as a full-time co-host and retired from her gig in August 2021 after four seasons. The outspoken conservative television personality often quarreled with her more liberal panelists, particularly Goldberg and fellow co-host Joy Behar. In her most recent book, "Bad Republican: A Memoir," she explained that her tension with Behar was what motivated her to leave the show for good.
"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,'" McCain recounted. Following the exchange, McCain told an ABC producer, "If you guys didn't want me to come back, I wouldn't have come back!"
McCain also made jabs at Goldberg in her memoir, stating, "The thing about Whoopi, though, is that she yields so much power in culture and television, and once she turns on you, it can create unfathomable tension at the table." She added that she initially felt safe around Goldberg, but that sentiment wore off after the latter allegedly began to make her contempt felt.
"I found her open disdain for me more and more difficult to manage as the years went on, and it became more frequent. Occasionally, if the show's political discourse veered into territory that she found disagreeable, Whoopi would cut me off, sometimes harshly."
Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Unsurprisingly, Goldberg also expressed her dislike of McCain during Saturday's interview.
"We've always had disagreements and stuff, but this one was a little bit different," Goldberg said. "I think [the show], it's better. I feel it's better, but I'm still tired!"
Despite the onscreen drama, Goldberg claimed that there were no backstage fights with McCain.
"People felt like they wanted to go home," she continued. "There was no point in fighting. You do what you do and you go home and do what you love to do. And hopefully, everybody is now happier."
Shares