Meghan McCain Suggests Whoopi Goldberg ‘Turned On’ Her While On ‘The View’, Reveals She Had A Breakdown After Joy Behar’s ‘I Didn’t Miss You’ Comment + Alleges The Show Has A ‘Toxic Work Environment’

Meghan McCain Suggests Whoopi Goldberg ‘Turned On’ Her While On ‘The View’, Reveals She Had A Breakdown After Joy Behar’s ‘I Didn’t Miss You’ Comment + Alleges The Show Has A ‘Toxic Work Environment’

Meghan McCain is opening up about her experience working for ‘The View.’

In an excerpt of her upcoming audio memoir, ‘Bad Republican,’ the 36-year-old television host addresses the ‘toxic work environment,’ and her relationship with her former co-hosts, Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar. 

Whoopi Goldberg

Joy Behar

Meghan McCain joined the cast of The View in 2017. On working with Whoopi Goldberg she says the two weren’t close but ‘warm and friendly.’ She added,

“When I first joined “The View” in 2017, I felt a connection to Whoopi. She had made a promise to my father that she would look after me, and she kept her word for the first two years that I was on the show.”

She went on to suggest Whoopi Goldberg “turned on” her:

“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. I found her open disdain for me more and more difficult to manage as the years went on and it became more frequent.”

She continued,

“Occasionally, if the show’s political discourse veered into territory that she found disagreeable, Whoopi would cut me off, sometimes harshly. Once, in the middle of a heated debate on live TV, Whoopi singled me out and said, “Girl, please stop talking right now.” It instantly trended on Twitter. And it really hurt. Another time she answered something I said by blurting out “O.K.” in a tone that declared she was both baffled and disgusted by what I had just said. This reaction also went viral and left a scar on our relationship. Day after day, week after week, these things take a toll.”

Meghan McCain says the incident was ‘horrible and humiliating.’ She added,

“It was horrible. To her credit, Whoopi apologized the next morning. I would apologize when I messed up. I f***** up a lot on that show. It was humiliating for me, and I’m a serious person. I felt like I was being talked to like I was a child and a brat. And when things go viral on Twitter and people write things, it really does impact you. I felt very lonely.”

Following the birth of her daughter, Liberty, McCain says she suffered from severe postpartum depression. She recalls in the days leading to her return, the postpartum anxiety got worse.

“My husband Ben was very honest with my doctor and said, ‘She having a hard time, and it’s more than depression.’ I had a hard time letting anyone else hold her [Liberty] but me. I became even more worried someone would try to hurt Liberty to punish me. I would even have panic attacks taking her in a stroller because I was afraid someone would push me down and run off with her.”

She added,

“I would hear from viewers saying that I looked so sad on ‘The View’ in the winter of 2020.” 

Meghan McCain, husband Ben, daughter Liberty

McCain also talked about her relationship with Joy Behar. According to McCain, the two initially worked well together because they were both ‘strong and unemotional.’ But after returning from maternity leave, Joy Behar made it clear she ‘did not miss’ Meghan, causing her to have an emotional breakdown. She said,

“I had postpartum anxiety. When I was back, I was really nervous. It was like starting TV all over again. I felt unsteady. I was trying to make a joke, “You missed me so much.”

She added,

“After the show, I went back to my office and I had a panic attack. I couldn’t stop crying, and I’m not always crying. I couldn’t compose myself. I threw up in the garbage can. I was so overcome. This is my narrative — “I come back from maternity leave and no one missed me.” I knew it was going to be everywhere. I was just so confused, because women when they have babies should be treated respectfully when they come back to work.”

Although there were happier times during her four-year stint on the talk show. McCain suggests in her memoir that the environment was also ‘toxic’ because of ‘demons that had not been exorcised’. On the environment she said,

“But there’s stuff that happens on “The View” that shouldn’t be allowed. For whatever reason, there’s a deep level of misogyny about the way “The View” is covered and written about in the media, where tabloids are always writing about the co-hosts hating each other backstage…We’re like the network’s crazy cousin.”

Meghan McCain

She continued,

“HR reports seem to fall on deaf ears, starting from years before I worked there. And as a result, people — both on camera and off — feel empowered to act however they like, and do whatever they want. In my four years there, I was the target of plenty of shade — too much to even begin to recount — and then I also experienced more toxic, direct and purposeful hostility.”

Meghan McCain officially parted ways with ‘The View’ in July 2021, which was a surprise to her co-host.

“On July 1, 2021, I announced live on air that I was leaving ‘The View’ after four years. My co-hosts learned about my decision that morning, and the shock registered on their faces. I’d been talking to ABC’s higher-ups for weeks about wanting to leave. Up until the week before, they were trying to convince me to stay and finish out the two years left on my contract. I told them it was too late – I had to get out.” 

When discussing if she would return she said,

“No. It would be like looking at an ex-boyfriend’s Instagram. What’s the point?”

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[VIA]