Quick, look into the headline!
It’s a bird! It’s a plane, its—
No, it’s The View saying so long to Meghan McCain!
As predicted by Page Six Thursday morning, the conservative arch-cohost announced her resignation from her duties on The View Cinematic Universe (VCU) at the opening of the morning’s broadcast with a surprisingly gracious speech. Thanking the entire cast of co-hosts, the crew and her family, McCain attributed her decision to time spent with her family during the pandemic, during which she gave birth to a baby girl and settled into life in Washington, D.C. with husband Ben Domenech, co-founder and publisher of the Federalist.
Each of the co-hosts spoke fondly of their frequent sparring partner, assuring her that she will be missed despite often bombastic exchanges. (“You are no snowflake, Missy,” frequent combatant Joy Behar conceded.) It was also noted that McCain’s oft-mentioned father John McCain was instrumental in convincing Meghan to join the cast, particularly for the opportunity to work with Whoopi Goldberg. “It was an honor when he said ‘please take my child,’” Goldberg noted.
McCain also took the opportunity to take a jab at the media for its “deep misogyny and sexism” and “really reductive” coverage of the cast of women—though arguably, her behavior was most often reported on in recent years.
“And I will still be here another month, so if you guys want to fight a little more, I’ll still be here for four more weeks,” McCain quipped, adding, “I wish nothing but the best for all of you.”
Per a source from Disney (the parent company of ABC), the company tried to keep McCain on, but she felt it best to make her departure soon despite still having two years left on her contract.
“We have tried to keep her, but she is adamant that now is the right time for her to leave,” the Disney source confirmed. This is an ironic turn of events seeing as McCain told Andy Cohen back in January that she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Whether we like it or not, I’m not going anywhere on the show, Joy’s not going anywhere on the show, we all have to live and co-exist together just like Americans right now,” she explained in part during Watch What Happens Live. “Which is a little deeper of an answer, but we’re all going to try and co-exist and I really want to have us all move forward.”
With all the crazy showdowns Meghan and Whoopi (and Joy, and Sunny, and—) have had over the years, I hope her final sendoff is one of equally epic proportions. Will they Thanos-snap her away from the table on that last day right in the middle of her goodbye speech? Maybe Whoopi will wield some never-before-seen Doctor Strange powers and send her back to that alternate reality she seems to have been reporting from for the last four years. Or maybe Sunny can invoke “di strenf of thee Black Panther” and give her one last vibranium-filled read before she goes.
You know what? On second thought, somebody get Kevin Feige on the phone. If we’re gonna do this, we’ve got to do it right.