This Former "The View" Co-Host Just Revealed She Felt "Threatened" on Set
Abby Huntsman shared the real reason she left the talk show.
The View has featured 22 hosts during its time on the air, and many of them have opened up about their varying experiences on the show after leaving. The latest to speak out is Abby Huntsman, who co-hosted The View from September 2018 to January 2020. The journalist and daughter of former Utah governor Jon Huntsman talked about her time hosting the show in a new interview with DailyMailTV and said she only wishes she made the decision to leave the show sooner.
Huntsman also said that at times, she felt "threatened" on the show by executives, many of whom she said are no longer with the series. But, while Huntsman has a bone to pick with some of the people who were working behind the scenes, she had kind words for her fellow co-hosts, especially the one who she sat next to everyday. Read on to see what Huntsman had to say about The View.
RELATED: This The View Co-Host Says Leaving Was the "Best Decision" She Ever Made.
Huntsman said she was quickly disappointed in the show.
Huntsman joined the show in 2018 and her fellow co-hosts were Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Meghan McCain, and Sunny Hostin. "When the execs hired me, I said, 'I am not coming in to be a talking head for any organization, any political party, I'm coming in as Abby,'" she told DailyMailTV. "But very quickly you realize that's not how it goes there. I learned very quickly getting there that no one was going to pick me up if I fell."
She claimed that "it was almost like they wanted there to be that tension." Huntsman explained, "It was part of their game which made it really hard. It didn't always make people their very best self and so you're always paranoid. It's not a healthy or normal way for any human being to live their life."
She said she felt "threatened" at times.
"There was behavior that should never have happened in a work environment—that people [were] rewarded for," Huntsman said in the interview. "I mean, there would be times where people would treat others in ways that was just unacceptable." The 35-year-old said that she felt "threatened at times if I didn't do what they wanted." She didn't elaborate on what she was supposedly asked to do. Huntsman also said that she raised her concerns about the workplace being negative but didn't feel that anything changed because of it.
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She left the show in early 2020.
When Huntsman announced that she was leaving the show, she said it was because she was working on her father's campaign to be elected governor of Utah for a third time. But, in the new interview, she confirmed reports that there was more to the story.
"I remember looking at my daughter, Isabel, and I thought to myself: One day, if she comes to me and says, 'I am in a situation that is unhealthy for me and I have to get out,' I want to tell her that I did that too and that I will be there holding her hand," Huntsman explained. "I did it for my own kids and I was so proud that I had the strength to walk away because they told me when I left, 'You will never find anything better than this.'"
Huntsman previously told People in June, "I don't talk much about that time, and I won't, but the decision that I made was probably the best decision I could have made for my life, for my mental health, for my happiness, for my family."
She has no bad blood with her co-hosts.
Huntsman told DailyMailTV that she didn't have any issues with her co-hosts and complimented Behar in particular. "[Joy] is perfect for that show. You may not agree with her politically, but she's really quick and she was hilarious, too. I sat next to her every day." Huntsman added, "There's not one person [from the show] that I couldn't reach out to. Well, maybe some of the executives. But, yeah, I'll have friends there for the rest of my life."
The View issued a statement in response to Huntsman's comments.
In response to Huntsman's interview, a spokesperson for The View told DailyMailTV, "Twenty-two incredible women have had a seat on the panel and have worked in collaboration with the dedicated group of professionals on our staff. Abby will always remain a part of The View family and we look forward to continuing the conversation with her when she visits next month."
It seems that the spokesperson was referencing the show's Flashback Friday series, in which former co-hosts join the show for an episode in celebration of the 25th season.
RELATED: This Was the Worst Guest The View Ever Had, Former Host Says.
