The View is taking a political stance against Halloween this year. Season 28’s co-hosts—including Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, and Alyssa Farah Griffin—will not be donning princess gowns, wigs, or prosthetic noses this season, show producer Brian Teta disclosed on the Behind the Tablepodcast. For longtime fans of the show, the cancellation of The View’s 2024 Spooky Season episode isn’t all too surprising, given its proximity to the election. However, others are calling the “lame” news a real “bummer,” arguing it would be a fun distraction from “all the political chaos.”
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“I’m going to announce something today that’s going to upset a portion of the audience, but I think it’s going to make you happy,” Teta told Behar on the Oct. 15 episode. “This year, because it’s only a few days before the election and we need to be live, the hosts are not going to dress up for Halloween.”
Teta was quick to reassure listeners that he’ll do everything in his power “to bring it back next year.” But right now, The View needs to be all hands on deck in the lead-up to the 2024 election, in which Vice President Kamala Harris is looking to make history as the first woman president against Donald Trump, who is seeking a second term.
“The problem is those shows are a huge undertaking, we have to do them on tape,” he explained of the “iconic” Halloween extravaganza episode. “Part of what our show has become, and what it is right now, we can’t be on tape three days before the election.”
Behar agreed, noting that the election is “too important” to ignore for a costume party on set.
“I don’t mean to be grandiose, but we do have some influence on people’s thinking. We need to use every single minute on this show to inform the public about how dangerous [Trump] is,” she responded.
"It's hard for you to do that while dressed like Pinocchio,” Teta respondede.
As we approach Election Day on Nov. 5, The View has invited several distinguished political figures, including Hillary Clinton, President Joe Biden, and Liz Cheney, to speak about the presidential race.
The last time The View canceled their Spooky Season episode was in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And while it’s one of The View’s longest traditions, Behar said that selfishly, “it’s always annoying for us” as co-hosts.
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The View fanbase is just as opinionated as the show’s co-hosts. Unshockingly, the news that Halloween is canceled this year was not well received on social media. In one Reddit thread, a fan accused the talk show of “taking all the fun out of 2024.”
“Kinda rolling my eyes but whatever,” someone wrote, while another commented, “Lame…they could still do Halloween costumes and talk politics.”
“I like the Halloween shows,” said a third.
“Really disappointing. It’s one of my favorite shows of the year. Life goes on even with all the political chaos…bummer,” reads a post.
“They can't even take a day off for a fun Halloween costume episode that they're known for,” said another.
In the past, the co-hosts have dressed up as Barbie, Cruella de Vil, Avatar’s Neytiri, Princess Jasmine, and Carl Fredricksen from Up. Elsewhere on Reddit, disappointed fans acknowledged that The View can’t make time for fun and games the week before Election Day.
“I like the levity of the Halloween episodes, but it would be pretty distracting as we get closer to the election. I get this decision,” said one user.
“Personally happy about this,” wrote another, explaining, “The amount of times they have had a prerecorded show or been on a break and something major happens in the political and they can’t live react drives me crazy.”
“That’s disappointing but I kinda get it,” another person chimed in. “I mean Halloween is less than a week before the election and I’m sure they’ll want to cover as much as possible leading up to it.”
Meanwhile, one fan offered up a suggestion that could appropriately combine the silliness of Halloween and the seriousness of the election. “I can see how a costume episode might undermine the seriousness of being a week away from the election, but the solution would be if they all dressed as admirable women in politics history,” they proposed.
