Whoopi Goldberg, 67, MISSES season premiere of The View after testing positive for COVID for a THIRD time – but co-host Joy Behar insists she’s ‘on the mend’ and at ‘the tail end’ of her illness
- Season 27 of The View kicked off on Tuesday but Whoopi was noticeably absent
- She took time off the ABC show last year after testing positive for Coronavirus a couple of times
- READ MORE: Whoopi Goldberg reveals the truth about her sexuality
Whoopi Goldberg was forced to miss the season 27 premiere of The View on Tuesday after being struck down with COVID for a third time.
As the ABC show returned to the air following a four-week summer break, Joy Behar filled in as moderator while Whoopi, 67, was noticeably absent because she had tested positive for coronavirus.
Joy, 80, was joined by Ana Navarro, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin as she opened the show sitting at a brand new desk and looking as glamorous as ever.
‘As you can see, Whoopi is not here, she has Covid,’ Joy announced as the live studio audience reacted, which led her to add: ‘Yes. It’s back, it’s back.’
Joy continued: ‘But she’s on the mend, she’s on the tail end. Sorry for those who were looking forward to seeing her.’
Whoopi Goldberg was forced to miss The View on Tuesday after being struck down with COVID
Joy Behar announced the news on Tuesday’s show and confirmed that Whoopi is ‘on the mend’
Joy was joined by (L-R) Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin
Whoopi was very quiet on social media during the four-week summer break and hasn’t posted on Instagram since July 27.
The Sister Act star was also noticeably absent from an event at the end of August to mark her latest career venture.
On Monday, August 28, Whoopi’s daughter Alex Martin and her children – Amara Skye Dean, Mason Dean, and Jerzey Dean – attended the Bella Flora Celebrity Golf Tournament in Laguna Beach, California, but Whoopi was nowhere to be seen.
Her family were present to support her Cannabis Cactus magazine cover, as the magazine was a media partner of the event.
It’s unclear if Whoopi was absent because she had already tested positive for COVID.
This isn’t the first time the actor has fallen ill with coronavirus as she was forced to take time off the show in early 2022 after showing symptoms between Christmas 2021 and New Year’s Eve.
Whoopi said at the time that she’d started to feel under the weather with mild symptoms after Christmas, so she took a test and then rang in the new year by resting in bed, listening to audiobooks and watching the ball drop.
This is the third time Whoopi has been forced to take time off from The View due to COVID
Popular ABC show The View is back for a 27th season of debates and Hot Topics
‘It was a shock, because I’m triple vaxxed, I haven’t been anywhere, I haven’t done anything,’ she said in a statement.
‘It’s one of those things where you think, I’ve done everything I was supposed to do… Yeah, it doesn’t stop omicron.
‘I don’t know how much more proof people need to see that the vaccination — while it does not necessarily stop it from happening again, it is not happening at the same rate that it was,’ she added.
Whoopi contracted COVID again in November 2022, and took time off work again so this is the third time that she has been missing from the show due to the virus.
After returning to work in November 2022, she told the panel: ‘You can get boosted within an inch of your life and then the next thing you know you got Covid again. But I don’t have it now and that’s why I’m back at the table.’
She continued: ‘I will tell you, we’re used to people saying, “Oh [Covid] isn’t that bad [now]”, but this was a rough one.’
Viewers tuning in on Tuesday reacted to the news on Twitter, as one person posted: ‘Whoopi has gotten COVID so many times. Goodness #TheView.’
Another joked: ‘Whoopi having Covid and missing the season 27 premiere seems like a hate crime to me #TheView.’
Upon her return to work after having COVID in 2022, Whoopi said it was a ‘rough one’
A third fan admitted: ‘Wait a minute #Whoopi has #Covid & is not on #TheView. I really don’t like it when Whoopi is not there.’
A fourth person added: ‘Whoopi not being here for the first episode of the season seems like a personal attack against me. #TheView.’
Other fans were not impressed with the new look of the show’s set as one person moaned: ‘I don’t like it. It looks dated and not modern at all #theview.’
‘New table. Saw someone say about a new set, but nope. #TheView,’ someone else added.
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