As toxic as the table talk can get on The View, we’ve been hearing for years that it’s even worse behind the scenes.
Most recently author Ramin Setoodeh attempted to tackle the whole history in his best-selling exposé Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View. But of course, history is being made every day. So even after the book had gone to print, another co-host left under less-than-clear circumstances.
In the new paperback edition of the book, Setoodeh covers the exit of Abby Huntsman, which was portrayed very differently to the audience than what we heard was going on backstage.
Related: Barbara Walters Allegedly Threatened To Quit Over Rosie O’Donnell
We’d heard in January the former Fox News pundit had joined the rest of the ladies in being unable to deal with the “rude and dismissive” Meghan McCain. So when Abby announced she was leaving just because she wanted to work on her father’s political campaign, we definitely had an eyebrow raised.
Then when CNN Business published an article claiming half a dozen people behind the scenes had told them the real reason was over the “toxic environment” at the show, pushed over the limit by “recent tension” with her former friend Meghan, we were ready to believe it. Yes, even after they sold the sweet goodbyes on TV. Well, one of them sold it anyway.
Well, now we finally have a more in-depth look at the exit, and it sounds like there was just as much drama as we thought. According to Setoodeh, in an excerpt first obtained by Us Weekly:
“Abby, who had spent just over a year on The View, reached her decision after multiple conversations with ABC executives about the toxicity at the root of the show. When they didn’t respond to her, she told them that she’d like to move on, according to sources with knowledge of those conversations. Abby didn’t think that anyone at ABC was looking out for her.”
We had heard previously Abby had reached out for help before deciding to leave. Now it sounds from these sources like the network is getting a lot of the blame for not smoothing things over:
“In interviews with more than ten current and former staff on the show, they confirmed the portrait of a talk show hobbled by constant dysfunction. They described a work environment where three executive producers play a game of hot potato, not dealing with resentments or festering tensions among the cohosts or staff.”
Ouch! One “high-ranking staff member” is quoted as saying:
“There’s no leadership and no management. Whenever there’s a problem, nobody communicates.”
Another source said it was worse than just executive indifference. They compared the management of The View to “the way Bravo tries to stoke the rivalries between its Real Housewives stars, to make for more explosive moments on TV.”
Wow! There is more of a history of feuding on The View than any other daytime TV show we can think of. And Today had rape accusations going on behind the scenes!
Perhaps most intriguing was a quote attributed in the book to Whoopi Goldberg, who allegedly told Abby upon hearing she was thinking about leaving:
“This is the best decision you’ll make in your career.”
Dayum! Does this mean Whoopi is the next one out the door?
A source did deny the Star Trek: TNG star ever said that, so who knows? Besides, the 64-year-old has handled worse and stuck around. But it definitely makes you wonder…
Do YOU think the network’s handling of drama is to blame for the environment on The View??
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