Fans of The View know that there is no shortage of drama on the contentious talk show. Since it premiered in 1997, the series has had its fair share of panelists, which includes four to eight women per season. The current panel features Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Joy Behar, and Sunny Austin, with Republican commentator Ana Navarro also co-hosting every Friday. In 2021, the seat occupied by token Republican Meghan McCain was vacated, leaving producers with an empty spot for the upcoming season. Guest hosts filled in for season 25, but with season 26 coming up, fans are guessing who will be selected as the next permanent co-host. One potential panelist is so controversial, however, that fans are already threatening to boycott if she's selected. Read on to find out which possible co-host fans say they won't support.
READ THIS NEXT: This Former The View Star Just Said She'd Never Co-Host Again.
McCain had her own reasons for leaving the show.
Kathy Hutchins / ShutterstockIn 2021, McCain decided to leave The View, making her one of the only co-hosts who chose to leave as opposed to being fired, Variety reported. McCain's final day on The View was on Aug. 6, 2021, but she said she made the decision back in January when she had just returned from maternity. McCain explains in her memoir Bad Republican that she was dealing with postpartum anxiety after giving birth to her daughter in Sept. 2020, and when she joked on-air with Behar about whether she missed McCain while she was out, Behar infamously responded, "I did not miss you. Zero!" McCain said this reduced her to tears during the commercial break, and she experienced a panic attack after filming.
In an accompanying interview with Variety, McCain stated that this incident, as well as the "unhinged and disorganized and rowdy" work environment at The View, were what prompted her to leave. With McCain's departure, producers are looking to fill the open conservative seat—and one name has drawn considerable backlash.
If this right-wing host is selected, some fans say they'll boycott.
Producers of The View are set to announce McCain's replacement on Aug. 4, with many fans anxiously awaiting the news. Several names have been circulated as potential panelists, but some viewers will not be happy if Alyssa Farah Griffin becomes the new full-time co-host, The U.S. Sun reported.
Farah Griffin served as the White House Director of Strategic Communications and Assistant to the President under President Donald Trump, and when the Daily Mail reported that insiders had confirmed her place on the The View, social media was flooded with outraged fans.
"I'll be quitting #TheView permanently," one Twitter user wrote after the news broke on July 26.
"The one nice thing about Alyssa Farah Griffin being named a permanent cohost on @TheView is that I will now have an extra 200 hours a year. What could you accomplish with another 200 hours a year? #BoycottTheView #TheView," another tweet reads.
Her political views are too extreme for some.
The Washington Post / Contributor / Getty ImagesFans take issue with several aspects of Farah Griffin's conservative views, and sources told the Daily Mail that they were shocked to hear she would fill the open spot.
"My jaw dropped when I was told she was the pick," one source "close to the discussions" told the outlet. "It makes no sense." The current co-hosts have also expressed their disappointment, another insider said—and that includes Navarro, who "especially feels let down as they are hiring someone who was an essential part of the movement that destabilized this country," the Daily Mail reported.
Farah Griffin resigned from her position with the Trump administration in Dec. 2020, having previously worked as press secretary to then-Vice President Mike Pence. After resigning, she tweeted that the experience was "the honor of a lifetime." Fans of The View have voiced their disdain for with Farah Griffin and her time under Trump, with some dubbing her a "far right conspiracy theorist."
Farah Griffin did denounce Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, Politico reported, urging Trump to call off the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol. Despite this and her new role of being both "pro-Trump" and "anti-Trump," as a reporter told Vanity Fair, some devout watchers of The View are still not happy—and they're prepared to turn off their TVs in protest.
Another contender has stirred rumors of a return.
s_bukley / ShutterstockThe token conservative spot on the show is one that has faced constant shuffling, and one previous co-host, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, is also being tapped by fans to reclaim the spot. Hasselbeck held the seat on The View from 2003 to 2013, during which time she gained both loyal fans and critics. Twitter is divided over her potential return, rumors of which are being fueled by her Aug. 3 guest appearance on the show.
"Too bad she can't be the permanent conservative co-host. Would love that!" one social media user tweeted.
"Whew...Elisabeth Hasselbeck is truly exhausting and I'm so glad we don't have to deal with this everyday. #TheView," another Aug. 3 tweet reads
Hasselbeck's own team even stated that her return to The View isn't too far-fetched. "This is the same woman who threw herself into the middle of the Australian Outback [on Survivor], survived 10 years at The View, and then joined the Fox News Team," Hasselbeck's representative told the New York Post. "I would say nothing is off the table when it comes to her taking on new adventures."
While rumors are circulating and some outlets claim that the deal is already done, we'll all have to sit tight ahead of the official announcement.
