The Truth About Joy Behar And Meghan McCain's Relationship

The View co-hosts Meghan McCain and Joy Behar are no strangers to duking it out on-air, especially where it concerns politics. Almost every episode, there's some dispute boiling over between the two, and the public seems to lap it up. It also doesn't help that Behar is a veteran of the show (she joined in 1997 as an original member), while McCain is a relative newbie (2017), creating an explosive power struggle between past and present. The tug-of-war eventually became so tense that one of the ladies referred to the other one as a "b***h." Yikes.

That all being said, however, it's hard to tell what's real and what's fake at times. Is their epic sparring just for ratings, or do these two really despise one another? And what's really going on behind-the-scenes at The View? We're ready to spill all the juicy details, so sit back and relax as we uncover the truth about Meghan McCain and Joy Behar's relationship.

If you follow The View's ongoing drama, there's a good chance you caught wind of Meghan McCain calling Joy Behar a "b***h." The explosive moment went down during a June 2019 conversation about President Donald Trump's 2020 kickoff rally, which McCain used as a jumping off point to explain the Trump's appeal to his extremely loyal base. Behar wasn't impressed with her take, so McCain felt compelled to defend her position, arguing, "Don't belittle the enthusiasm ... It's that they hate the same things Trump hates. That's what's going on." Still, Behar continued to needle at McCain, who eventually shouted, "Being the sacrificial Republican every day..." This elicited an "awww" from Behar, prompting McCain to call her the curse word. 

Although the moment inspired gasps from the audience and countless headlines, the exchange wasn't that salacious. "I also enjoy fighting with you and she enjoys fighting with me," McCain said in a later segment about the on-air battle. "So, I just want everyone to stop being so precious about our relationship because it's almost 2020, and women can debate on TV in a spirited way without it being personal, and I know this is a big shock — we get along backstage." As for Behar? She doesn't "care" about being called a "b***h" by McCain. 

See? Sometimes the drama isn't as bad as it might appear.

Hate is a strong word, but some people might argue that Meghan McCain and Joy Behar's daily sparring proves that they despise one another. Behar debunked this theory outright, however, telling the Daily Beast: "We get along fine. We both like to fight in a certain way, and we like to argue. We've had big fights over the last couple of years on the air, but basically she's very strong in her position, and I'm very strong in my position, and we fight, we argue. So what? That's what makes the show interesting, I think. People write about us as if we hate each other, and we really don't. I don't have a problem with her."

Behar also explained why she thinks rumors continue to surround their relationship, adding, "I hate to tell you that because it's kind of fun to write about. But that's the truth." There you have it, folks... nothing to see here.

Not only does Joy Behar like Meghan McCain, but she's the Arizona native's favorite co-host. Yep, you read that correctly — McCain enjoys sparring with Behar the most. "Of all the people backstage, we actually get along the best," McCain told Entertainment Tonight in September 2019. "Because we always want to watch news after and still talk about it." This is a pretty big compliment considering McCain's BFF, commentator Abby Huntsman, is also a co-host on The View.

What's more? McCain shared a gushing message in honor of Behar's 77th birthday on Oct. 7, 2019. "Happy Birthday to my favorite sparring partner and true tv icon ⁦‪@JoyVBehar‬⁩ — you make me laugh every single day and never back down from your principles," she captioned an adorable Instagram of the two in Halloween costumes. "I am lucky to know you and call you a friend!" Aww.

If you're wondering where this love fest is coming from (we're curious, too), Joy Behar cleared the air in a July 2018 conversation with Adweek's TVNewser. When asked why she likes Meghan McCain, she explained, "I like her a lot. She's a very intelligent girl. She has qualities in her personality that I admire in myself. For example, she's very direct. She does not take hostages. She just says it, moves on, and I like that about her." Talk about a high compliment, right? 

It's also possible Behar has a certain sense of admiration for McCain's family, as she attended Arizona Sen. John McCain's memorial service in August 2018. The veteran co-host also sent out a touching tweet about the late senator, writing, "We have lost someone who was a voice of reason and truth. A hero. He will be sorely missed. RIP, John McCain." 

Clearly, there's a lot of admiration between McCain and Behar in more ways than one.

Although Meghan McCain and Joy Behar love to gush about one another in the press, sources behind-the-scenes paint a different picture. One example? A source told the Daily Mail that in December 2018, following a fight between the two about the late George H. W. Bush, Behar muttered into her mic: "My God! Get this b***h under control. If this s**t doesn't stop I'm quitting this damn show. I can't take this much more." Woah. If this comment was said, it goes to show things might not be as rosy as the two would like you to believe. 

But wait — that's not all. The co-host also accused McCain of being entitled, supposedly telling producers: "I've tolerated a lot of s**t on this show but I'm at my wits' end with this entitled b***h. Enough already! Enough already! I'm not playing nice any longer.'" As for McCain? She supposedly played dumb about the whole thing, telling staffers, "I don't know why she's so upset. I just wanted her to focus on President Bush and not bring Trump into this for once.'"

We can't say for certain whether this happened, but we wouldn't be surprised if there's more to this story.

Meghan McCain has never pretended to be a walk in the park personality-wise, but it's possible her attitude is way worse than she'd like to admit. A source told the Daily Mail in July 2019, for instance, that McCain has supposedly earned the nickname "Manic McCain" for allegedly going off on staffers and accusing her colleagues of leaking stories to the press. This has supposedly caused widespread unhappiness at The View, with a source telling the outlet: "It's never been this bad. I've been around a long time, but the morale at the show is worse than ever — even worse than when Rosie O'Donnell was here!"  

The source also said McCain's co-hosts "strongly dislike" her, while Whoopi Goldberg "tolerates" her, reiterating "they are just co-workers, not her friends." And it all has to do with one key issue: the conservative commentator is supposedly too selfish. "Meghan is only concerned about one person, Meghan McCain, and as long as ABC allows her to terrorize her co-hosts, the producers and the staff the way she does; it'll never stop," an insider explained.

If McCain's behind-the-scenes persona is this bad, then we can see how her relationship with Joy Behar might suffer as a result. 

If you ever see Meghan McCain storming off-set after an on-air fight with Joy Behar, take note that there's probably not any drama behind it. Or at least that's what McCain claimed in a September 2019 interview on Watch What Happens Live. In reference to one particularly heated moment, she claimed, "I just want to say, the walking off footage ... we are told by producers to leave the table if it's too heated, and I get touched-up backstage with my makeup, so that's what I was doing. And I've done that, like, many times over the years, so I don't know why this particular time [it went viral]." 

Granted, that's a bit of an admission and a bit of an excuse, since McCain is admitting to leaving the table when things get "too heated," but that doesn't necessarily mean it's ever personal — particularly when it comes to her frequent spats with Behar, no less. And although some people might not believe her, it makes sense why producers wouldn't want to keep an exceptionally angry co-host on stage. That's not good for anyone, right?

Although Meghan McCain might seem like she's melting down every other day right on the air, don't expect her to quit The View anytime soon. In fact, McCain even stayed on after a July 2019 report from the Daily Beast suggested she was tired all of the fighting and ready to exit, with a source stating, "It's getting to the point where it's not worth the emotional toll every week. If she doesn't stay at The View, she will find other work." An insider also referred to McCain as a "caged animal," which is a pretty intense description for any co-host on a daytime talk show. 

Ultimately, however, McCain did not quit the show after the report surfaced, and she returned for Season 23, which premiere in September 2019. So if you think her daily sparring with Behar will inspire her departure, don't count on it just yet. And it just goes to show McCain can weather a lot, even if her co-hosts and the public are seemingly against her at times.

As many The View fans know already, Rose O'Donnell starred on the show from 2006 to 2007, then again, briefly, from 2014 to 2015. So she knows a thing or two about the dynamics of the show and how bad behind-the-scenes drama can get (anyone remember her epic feud with former co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck?). And when it comes to Joy Behar versus Meghan McCain, she's on the side of her former colleague. "I wish she wouldn't be mean to Joy Behar, who is, you know, like, a living legend, and should be respected for no other reason than she's the elder statesman in the room," O'Donnell said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live (via ET) about McCain's attitude when arguing with the TV vet. 

Despite O'Donnell's position that McCain should bow down to Behar, she is sympathetic to the Arizona native's plight. "[She's] trying to do that while grieving," O'Donnell also said, in reference to Arizona Sen. John McCain's passing in August 2018. "She was very, very tight with her father, and he had been dying for a while. We watched her daily try to grieve and get through. It's not really that easy. So I do have some compassion for her." Fair enough.