Whoopi Goldberg Set To Shake Up ‘The View’: Longtime Host Planning Her Exit?


Whoopi Goldberg could be the next ABC morning show host to shake things up. The longtime host is reportedly planning to exit The View, according to The Wrap. Whoopi has been the moderator on The View since 2007 and has seen an ever-changing lineup of co-hosts on the panel during her nearly 10-year reign.

A source close to The View told The Wrap that Goldberg has already told many people close to her that she will exit the morning chatfest. However, Goldberg’s exit chatter could also just be a ploy to increase her leverage during contract talks. View sources say ABC bosses want Whoopi Goldberg back—no matter what the cost. In addition to Whoopi Goldberg, View co-host Raven-Symone will likely leave the show.

If Whoopi Goldberg leaves, it will be yet another morning show shake-up for ABC. Live With Kelly and Michael host Michael Strahan just announced he will be leaving his spot alongside Kelly Ripa to take a job at Good Morning America, and that announcement didn’t go over so well.

But The View has been facing its own problems for a long time now. The chatfest has seen a revolving door of disgruntled hosts and has yet to find the chemistry that some other talk show panels have had. In contrast, CBS’ The Talk has boasted a solid lineup for the past five seasons. The Talk recently won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show, and co-host Sheryl Underwood told People that there is a mutual respect among the ladies on the show.

“Even when we disagree, we let each other finish our thoughts,” Underwood said. “We’re not angry. Nobody’s hostile, nobody storms off.”

That’s not exactly the case on The View. Before Whoopi Goldberg signed on, Rosie O’Donnell famously quit her post as moderator after an on-air catfight with fellow co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. And Goldberg herself has reportedly caused trouble behind the scenes.

Earlier this year, Page Six reported that Whoopi was being “antagonistic” behind the scenes of the show. Some sources wondered if Goldberg was trying to get ABC to pull her $5 million a year contract, which would force the network to pay her out even if she was canned. A source also told Page Six that Goldberg isconstantly at war with management.” But an ABC spokesperson told Entertainment Tonight that the rumors about Whoopi were untrue and that the network hopes to have her around “for a long time to come.”

“[Whoopi] is a vital part of The View who delivers every day as moderator and always comes to play,” the ABC rep said.

If Whoopi Goldberg does decide to leave The View, ABC will want to be careful to handle her exit properly. The network has already received a ton of flak for the Live With Kelly and Michael debacle when Kelly Ripa was pretty much the last person on the staff to find out that her co-host of four years was moving on. ABC later apologized to Ripa for how they handled the situation, but not before the longtime host took almost a week off to gather her thoughts.

The View has been struggling for several years, and at one point Barbara Walters considered coming out of retirement to save the series that she created. But rival host Julie Chen of The Talk told Sirius XM host Howard Stern that she warned Walters to stay away from her former show because it is a sinking ship.

“Are you kidding me?” Chen scoffed. “Everyone told her, ‘Barbara, that ship has sailed. No one can turn it around. Stay away; it will only hurt your image.”

Whoopi Goldberg has been the only stable force on The View for the past nine seasons. If she leaves, the show could indeed be sunk.

Take a look at the video below to see Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar walk off The View after a heated debate with guest Bill O’Reilly.

[Photo Allan Tannenbaum-Pool/Getty Images]

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