Joy Behar Plans To Leave ‘The View’ In 2022: ‘You Know, Time Marches On’
Joy Behar announced that she plans to leave The View in 2022 after 21 seasons, Variety reported. The 77-year-old co-host, who is a liberal voice on the ABC talk show, revealed that she plans to retire at the end of her current contract.
Behar’s contract ends in the summer of 2022, just before she turns 80 years old. The show’s creator, Barbara Walters, left in 2014 at the age of 84, so if Behar moves forward with her plan, she won’t be the oldest retiree of the long-running talk show. However, Behar is the show’s longest-serving co-host — she joined in 1997 when the whole thing began. In 2013, The View executives fired Behar in an attempt to make the show less political, but they rehired the seasoned comedienne in 2015 after the talk show suffered falling ratings during her absence.
Behar’s announcement came during an interview for the new nonfiction book called Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of ‘The View,’ which comes out in paperback next week after hitting the New York Times bestseller list last April with its hardback release.
“I have a three-year contract,” Behar noted. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t leave if I want to, because they can’t really do anything to me at this point. I don’t see myself staying for more [time]. That’s it! I could be wrong. If I’m as fabulous in [2022] as I am now, I’ll think about. But the chances of that happening…You know, time marches on. I’m not a kid.”
On March 13, Behar took a leave from The View in connection with the coronavirus pandemic to protect her health, as her age puts her in the high-risk category for the COVID-19 virus even though she has no other underlying conditions. At the time she chose to step back, Behar received plenty of support from her co-hosts over the decision to self-isolate, according to Hollywood Life. However, now that her other co-hosts have started working remotely, she’s returned to the Hot Topics table alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Meghan McCain, and Sunny Hostin via satellite from the Hamptons.
Throughout Behar’s time on the show, The View has undergone several significant changes, including a bevy of co-hosts who have come and gone over the years. After Behar’s retirement, none of the original co-hosts, which included Meredith Vieira as moderator, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos, and Walters, will remain. When the talk show debuted, Behar was supposed to be a fill-in for Walters, but she soon became a regular at the table.
