Joy Behar Thinks The View Was Never The Same After This Co-Host
Joy Behar was one of the original co-hosts of "The View" when it debuted in 1997. After more than two decades of co-host changes, Behar is the only one from that original crew who remains. She's seen a lot over the years, and she has said one particular former co-host changed "The View" forever. When "The View" began, Behar sat alongside Barbara Walters, Meredith Vieira, Debbie Matenopoulos, and Star Jones (per People), but many others have come and gone since the daytime show began.
As Fox News detailed, Behar earned a master's degree in English education and she taught high school English for a number of years. An ectopic pregnancy in 1979 took a significant toll on Behar and prompted her to change direction in her career. "I just didn't want to do it anymore," Behar told The New York Times about her teaching career. She became a receptionist for "Good Morning America" and started doing standup comedy. A couple of years later, she was fired from her "GMA" gig and, as The New York Times detailed, at nearly 40 she got serious about making a career out of her love for comedy. Behar's success in comedy led to her offer to do "The View," as Walters saw her perform at a birthday tribute for Milton Berle and the rest is history. "I outwitted, outlasted, and outsmarted them all," Behar once quipped of her numerous former "The View" co-hosts.
Rosie O'Donnell's time on the show was rocky
During a 2016 "Larry King Now" appearance, Joy Behar talked about how "The View" initially had the perfect mix of co-hosts. She explained Barbara Walters "happened to get the right combination of people," noting that's not easy to accomplish. "She had that," Behar detailed, "and then it got disrupted," referencing both Star Jones and Meredith Vieira's departures, as well as the addition of Rosie O'Donnell in 2006. Prior to O'Donnell, Behar felt everyone except Walters was "all on the same level of fame and fortune." O'Donnell, however, already had a fair amount of fame and star power. "It tipped the balance," Behar said of O'Donnell's presence. "It then became, as Barbara said, 'Diana Ross and the Supremes.' And that doesn't work," Behar revealed.
In 2017, O'Donnell and Behar appeared on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen." Behar admitted she had been "unmoored" after Meredith Vieira left and the year O'Donnell was on "The View" was hard. O'Donnell mentioned she didn't get along with Bill Geddie, the co-creator and then-executive producer on "The View." During their time with Cohen, Behar and O'Donnell discussed the May 2007 on-air battle between O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck and O'Donnell battled as producers went to a split-screen, something the show had not done before. Behar recalled wondering, "Why don't they go to commercial?" and O'Donnell agreed that would have been a better move. After that explosive episode of "The View," O'Donnell walked off and didn't return that season.
Joy Behar's navigated plenty of major changes
According to Joy Behar's interview with Larry King, Rosie O'Donnell's year of co-hosting on "The View" left a lasting impact. Us Weekly noted Whoopi Goldberg joined "The View" in 2007, and her presence brought a different vibe than the series had with O'Donnell. Over the years, many have come and gone, including Jenny McCarthy, Sherri Shepherd, Nicolle Wallace, Candace Cameron Bure, and plenty of others. O'Donnell even returned to "The View" in 2014, but she didn't last long. Variety detailed O'Donnell again battled with executive producer Bill Geddie and, in addition, she struggled to adjust to Goldberg's style of moderating the group's discussions.
As The Daily Beast noted, "The View" has had plenty of drama both on-screen and off over the years. During a difficult period in 2017, Goldberg took an on-air dig at the media's frequent reports. "'The View' — it's going to evolve as it always has. So quit trying to make something happen and let whatever's gonna happen, happen," she asserted. Behar herself left in 2013, but returned in 2015. "By the time I left last summer it became goody-goody again. Fluffy," Behar said of "The View" in 2017. "Now they're going back to confrontation. That's what it looks like to me," she added, referencing the political and dramatic tilt the show took over the years. Variety noted Behar's contract runs through 2022, and she suggested she may retire from "The View" then, although nothing seems set in stone yet.