Why The Republican Co-Host Seat On The View Is Cursed

"The View" is one of the most popular daytime talk shows on the air in recent history. Kicking off its 25th season in 2021, the critically acclaimed series has racked up more than 30 Emmys, has stirred up plenty of controversy, and has brought in more than 20 co-hosts. Following the departure of conservative co-host Meghan McCain, producers have yet to pick a person to permanently sit with liberals Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, and Sunny Hostin on the panel. A spokesperson for the show told TheWrap in December 2021 that while they haven't selected a new co-host, their "plans are on track" and are evidently set to make a choice in 2022.

According to Politico Playbook, the network is looking for a traditional Republican, but one who is not overly "friendly" with the other women at the table. Apparently, the bigger the on-camera fights, the better the ratings. "They are really looking for a unicorn," a former show staffer told the outlet. "They want someone who is going to fight — but not too hard, because they don't want it to be ugly and bickering." 

There have been some ugly moments and plenty of bickering over the years, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Some former co-hosts have spilled plenty of tea about their time on "The View," and their experiences shed light on why finding a new panelist — especially one willing to take the lone conservative seat — may be easier said than done. 

Debbie Matenopoulos was a 22-year-old MTV production assistant when she joined the TV show, but she was cut from the cast after two seasons. Chatting with Joy Behar on the "Behind the Table" podcast, the former E! correspondent remembered being "plucked out of nowhere" for this gig. "Let's be honest. I was a kid," she said. "The truth is ... you need to know about life to do a show like 'The View.' ... I wasn't prepared to sit down next to the most world-renowned journalist. ... Not to mention the other stuff that came on top of it."

"The audience just didn't like Debbie," former executive producer Bill Geddie said in "Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View." "The older people were okay with her. They thought she was an idiot, but it was funny. Younger people didn't see themselves in Debbie. They thought by picking someone like that, we were talking down to them."

Matenopoulos had the last word, sharing in a statement (via OK!),"Let's just say I wasn't treated properly. Those people who were tremendously cruel to me know who they are." The cookbook author and entertainment journalist seems to have put the past behind her and has recently guest co-hosted on "The View."

After only a few seasons on "The View," Elisabeth Hasselbeck had a contentious clash with Barbara Walters about FDA approval of the morning-after pill being offered over the counter, per Variety. When Walters told her to "stop" so she could continue to the next topic, the Christian conservative co-host walked off the set and was recorded on a hot mic going off to Joy Behar. "F*** that. I'm not going to sit there and get reprimanded on the air," she said (via Variety). "This woman is driving me nuts. I'm not going back."

Hasselbeck survived numerous other clashes on the show in the years after. In 2013, when she was told the show would not be renewing her contract, the former "Fox & Friends" co-host wrote in "Point of View: A Fresh Look at Work, Faith, and Freedom" that it felt like a punch in the gut. "I could not breathe — literally, could not breathe," she recounted. "I was bent over — shock, asthma and betrayal all stealing my wind."

The reason Hasselbeck was given for her firing was that the show would be moving in a less politically-focused direction in the future. She continues to ask the questions in her book the show producers never answered. "Why did you not tell me there was something I could have done better, so I could have done that?" she remembered wondering. "Blank stares met those anguished words."

For Candace Cameron Bure, the transition from Hallmark Channel's Christmas movie queen to co-host on "The View" was mentally and emotionally draining. Bure told USA Today, "[I] was just trying to understand and have a general grasp of topics that I didn't want to talk about or didn't care about. The stress and the anxiety, I actually have a pit in my stomach right now." The "Fuller House" star added, "There was only one type of stress that I've ever felt in my life that came from that show. And I [have] PTSD, like, I can feel it. It was so difficult and to manage that emotional stress was so hard."

On the "Behind the Table" podcast, Bure said the show's producers may have sold her a bill of goods. "I didn't grow up speaking about politics. So they had told me ... 'We want to talk more about family and sex and life, so I was, like, absolutely, 100 percent, I'm on board. And then it all changed when Trump entered the race." Day after day, going to work began taking its toll on her well-being. "So many mornings, I would just be crying before the show."

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"I did feel trapped sometimes, because I felt like just to be me wasn't what the executives at the time always wanted," former "Fox & Friends" host Abby Huntsman said on the "Behind the Table" podcast. "Everything was about a soundbite and everything was, 'Who could say the most bombastic thing in the moment?' And that's not me. ... You need to make waves and headlines, and the only way to do that is to be more bombastic, to say things that were out there and sometimes a bit crazy." Huntsman, who is conservative, recalled that initially the show's producers told her she wouldn't be expected to "speak for a political party," but it soon became clear that they did want her to fit "in that box."

On her "I Wish Somebody Told Me" podcast, the former MSNBC host said "The View" has "an unbearable culture" that rewards bad behavior. "I knew that the show did not reflect my values," she said, adding that every time she tried to start a dialogue with management about the environment on the show — and she tried many times — her concerns were swept under the rug. "It was about money and it was about ratings and the tabloids. And in order to keep that show hot, you had to just let it all continue on."

Talking to People about her exit, Hunstman said the move "was probably the best decision" she's made for her personal and professional life.

Nicolle Wallace's sudden departure from "The View" may just be the least acrimonious of all, but it still stung. The MSNBC anchor said in The Los Angeles Times, "Being fired from a TV show where you think you're kind of baring your soul feels personal because it is. It's like being broken up with." She added that she didn't realize it was more like casting an entertainment program. "It really was a casting, and it was a casting they didn't like," she said, who found out about her firing when she read it in the press.

After her one season on the show, the former communications chief for President George W. Bush told Variety, "I had never had one note from anybody inside the entire organization during the entire season. No one said a word to me. It was like being invisible." But Wallace says she harbors no resentment. She loved working with her co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie Perez, and Rosie O'Donnell. On her last day she said to them, "I have loved sitting in this chair, and it was never mine, but I'm lucky I got to occupy it for a little bit."

Reflecting on her four-season run on "The View," Meghan McCain shared in "Bad Republican" (via Variety) that she felt like she was "often being punished and singled out for being a conservative." She wrote, "'The View' is billed as being honest and open. ... But the truth is that the environment of the show is toxic." McCain also said her relationships with "The View" co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar became increasingly strained as the years went on.

"The atmosphere of The View breeds drama: producers can't control hosts, manage conflict or control leaking,' she continued in the book. "My take on the show is that working at The View brings out the worst in people. I believe that all the women and the staff are working under conditions where the culture is so f***** up, it feels like quicksand." McCain summed up her feelings about her role on the show in one of the most explosive episodes from 2019. After being pressed repeatedly (by Goldberg and Behar) to explain why Republicans were supporting Trump, she fired back, "But being the sacrificial Republican every day. ... Don't feel bad for me, b***h. I'm paid to do this, okay?"

When asked about McCain's feelings about her time on the series in 2021, Goldberg told TooFab, "You know, I'm trying to get my leg and my hip right. I don't have time to think about anything but myself."

The only co-host to quit "The View" twice, Rosie O'Donnell shared with "Ladies Who Punch" author Ramin Setoodeh, "Whoopi Goldberg was as mean as anyone has ever been on television to me. ...The worst experience I've ever had on live television was interacting with her."

It sounds like the star of "A League of Their Own" didn't always get on with her castmates, and her on-air feud with Elisabeth Hasselbeck over the war in Iraq is said to be the reason why she quit in 2007. When she decided to return for a second go round, it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. According to Variety, she apparently battled producers, refused to wear an earpiece, and butted heads with Goldberg.

In a candid 2020 interview with Howard Stern, O'Donnell admitted, "I think we all agreed ... that [the second departure] was better for everyone. Whoopi really didn't like me." When Stern asked about her relationship with O'Donnell (via CheatSheet), Goldberg said, "I've always liked Rosie. I don't have any problem with Rosie."

So, will the revolving door of prospective co-hosts on "The View" stop anytime soon? No matter what a panel member's political views might be, it sounds like it's a tough gig — and the culture of the show seemingly doesn't help matters. If the network execs really want us all to "Take some time to enjoy 'The View,'" maybe they should listen to these women who say they didn't.