Last week, we told you about Meghan McCain’s impending exit from The View.
After nearly four tumultuous seasons, the often combative co-host is saying goodbye to her colleagues—most of whom had pretty pleasant words to say following McCain’s admission on Friday morning’s episode. But despite their pleasant and palatable demeanors, per Page Six, tensions had been bubbling under the surface for quite some time.
According to a source, nearly all the co-hosts had reached their breaking point and were beyond ready to cut ties with McCain. “Everyone was at their wits’ end—even Whoopi, and she’s the chillest of them all,” a source explained. “Whoopi is never going to advocate for anyone to get fired. She’s not about that, but she was very clear that she no longer wanted to work with Meghan.”
The source also went on to explain how Joy Behar, Ana Navarro and Goldberg had all approached the network’s new management, aka ABC News President Kim Goodwin, after McCain and Behar’s big blow-up back in May. For context, the aforementioned duo got into a heated exchange in the middle of a conversation about the show’s coverage of anti-semitism over the years. ET Canada also reports that following that show and after receiving numerous petitions from viewers who wanted McCain out, Goodwin held an emergency meeting to address tensions but seemingly to no avail. Until now.
In addition to her spats with Goldberg and Behar, McCain apparently didn’t initially get along with Sunny Hostin, either. The source explained how McCain “hated and didn’t trust” Hostin and often felt that she was leaking stories about her to the press. Higher-ups at the time reportedly gave Hostin an ultimatum concerning their contentious relationship, telling the acclaimed lawyer to either “get along with Meghan or get out.”
“[ABC brass] essentially told Sunny, ‘Don’t make us have to choose between you and Meghan because we’re not going to choose you.’ And they’ve had a faux friendship ever since,” the source told the Post, though others claimed the two have since grown close.
Much like her co-hosts though, McCain had also been reportedly “miserable” throughout her four-year run and even turned down a contributor role at ABC News in order to wash her hands clean of the show and spend more time with her family.
“This was not an easy decision. It took a lot of thought and counsel and prayer and talking to my family and close friends,” McCain explained in part during her announcement.
Per a statement from ABC News obtained by ET, “She recently came to us with her decision to depart the show at the end of the season. A difficult choice that she made for her and her family that we respect and understand.”