Meghan McCain says leaving "The View" was like "a bomb going off"

The daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also likened her former job to "The Devil Wears Prada"

Published November 3, 2023 3:37PM (EDT)

Meghan McCain attends 2023 TIME100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 26, 2023 in New York City. (Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Meghan McCain attends 2023 TIME100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 26, 2023 in New York City. (Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Former "The View" panelist and television personality Meghan McCain rehashed her 2021 departure from the daily talk show on the latest episode of her podcast, "Meghan McCain Has Entered the Chat."

Speaking to her guest, journalist Brian Stelter, McCain said being on the show was "bad for me emotionally."

"When I left 'The View' — and I quit, it was very dramatic — it was like a bomb going off, when I was going into the studio to announce that I was leaving," she continued. "My entire body was trembling. I couldn't get my body to stop because I was having a physical reaction. I didn't know how people would respond. I didn't know if I was doing the right thing, and then even my agent at the time was like, 'If you're going to pull this rip cord, you need to make sure you're pulling this rip cord, and you're ready to do whatever.'"

McCain also likened her former role to "The Devil Wears Prada" (2006), in which Anne Hathaway, as a plucky writer, works under an unpleasant, megalomaniac magazine editor, played by Meryl Streep. "Working on 'The View' is a big job, people watch it, but for me, it was like in 'The Devil Wears Prada' where it's like, 'a million girls want this job,'" she said. "What I thought I wanted was the most miserable I was in my entire life."