The Shady Side Of Meghan McCain
Love her or hate her, Meghan McCain made a name for herself on "The View" as the most outspoken co-host on the panel. For four years, McCain was just as viral as the hot topics they covered daily. She never shied away from going toe to toe with anyone, despite pushback from her co-hosts and backlash from social media. For audiences, it was hard to turn away from her controversial opinions and shady attitude towards her co-hosts and public figures.
In 2021, she walked away from the coveted Republican seat at "The View", but that doesn't mean that her name has left the headlines. Her shady tweets, her 2021 book, and her column at the Daily Mail have all ruffled some feathers. Though "The View"'s current ratings are doing just fine without her, her time on the legendary show brought out her questionable side for the world to see. Here are some unforgettable moments that showed her shady side!
Her on-air feud with Joy Behar
Meghan McCain and Joy Behar being on the same panel always made for good television. The two always butted heads and talked over each other as Whoopi Goldberg struggled to moderate. McCain's conservative views were always a point of contention with her co-hosts, especially with Behar. Behar's stubbornness and jokes about former President Donald Trump left the two always clashing. One moment that caused a stir was McCain calling Behar a "b**ch" live on-air.
As they discussed a Trump rally, the two began to go back and forth in a lighthearted moment before things went left. As a frustrated McCain talked about how difficult it is to be the only Republican on the panel, Behar mockingly responded with an "aww." McCain didn't let that slide and told her, "Don't feel sorry for me, b**ch, I get paid to do this." The shocking moment left the audience stunned and the co-hosts awkwardly tried to move past it. In an effort to downplay the moment, McCain and Behar later made light of it, but the relationship between the two co-hosts remained strained during her time on the show.
She threw Whoopi Goldberg under the bus
When joining "The View," Meghan McCain told reporters that it was her late father, John McCain who encouraged her to take the job. "It was my dad who talked me into it," she told Elle in 2019. "He said, 'You can't ever give up an opportunity to work on a network with Whoopi Goldberg." However, some tense arguments on air might show McCain wasn't always Goldberg's favorite co-host.
After leaving "The View," she insinuated that Goldberg's constant "hostility" and dislike towards her was the reason she left the show (via Yahoo! News). In her book, "Bad Republican," McCain explained how Goldberg's dislike for her made it difficult to do her job. "Once she turns on you, it can create unfathomable tension at the table," she wrote, per Yahoo! News. The divide between the co-hosts continued until her last day at work. The Daily Mail reported that McCain's fellow co-hosts had no idea she resigned before she announced it on air.
Meghan McCain got caught lying on Twitter
The Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 took the world by storm. With protests popping up across the world, it was hard to ignore. Everyone from politicians shared their thoughts online, but no one's statement quite got the attention that Meghan McCain's did. In June, the star took to Twitter to criticize Mayor DeBlasio and Governor Cuomo. She tweeted, "My neighborhood in Manhattan is eviscerated and looks like a war zone ... Our leaders have abandoned us and continue to let great American cities burn to the ground and be destroyed. I never could have fathomed this."
In a tweet with over 147,000 retweets, McCain's own neighbor disputed her claims. "Meghan, we live in the same building, and I just walked outside. It's fine," Kristen Bartlett replied. Twitter openly mocked her melodramatic lie, and once Page Six reported that she was actually in Virginia when she made that tweet, she was forced to explain herself. McCain admitted she wasn't in New York at the time of her tweet but didn't come clean about lying about the city being in disarray. The only thing destroyed was her Twitter mentions after being exposed for lying.
She spoiled the Games of Thrones finale
The ladies on "The View" aren't always arguing about politics. Sometimes, they venture into more lighthearted commentary, like the epic "Game of Thrones" finale in 2019. As the co-hosts discussed the finale airing, things went left when McCain dropped a huge spoiler. Co-host Sunny Hostin who revealed she was only on Season 4, was heartbroken after the major spoiler and Whoopi Goldberg jokingly walked off stage in anger. When the audience groaned in response to the major spoiler, McCain got defensive and called them triggered.
"I'm sorry you guys are so triggered by me telling you the ending," She told the audience. "You guys are like genuinely upset. Why is this a Hot Topic then if I'm not supposed to talk about it?" McCain passed the blame to her producers for not warning her to not give spoilers. Later she was less defensive on Twitter and offered an apology to viewers. "I'm so sorry for the #GOT spoilers on the show today! I assumed every diehard fan had watched! My bad. Don't watch west coast if you don't want a spoiler," she tweeted.
She ignited a Twitter feud with Candace Owens
The world of Twitter got a front row seat to an epic showdown between two infamous conservative commentators. Meghan McCain and Candace Owens went head to head after McCain commented on Owens' interview with Donald Trump. "Trump schooling Candace Owens with facts and logic regarding getting the vaccine is really a sight to behold. Credit where credit is due and I hate the guy," she tweeted. Owens felt McCain's tweet was shady and replied back with a childish tweet mocking McCain's weight.
Things further escalated from there with McCain telling Owens to "get f**ked." This isn't the first time they went at it, as the two previously butted heads on Twitter regarding the vaccine. Owens wasn't pleased with McCain after she criticized people for spreading misinformation about Covid-19. Owens previously tweeted "I still can't figure out why @MeghanMcCain thinks she is relevant. Why can't people speak out about bad reactions to the vaccine? Her entire claim to fame is 'my daddy.'" McCain didn't reply to Owens directly, but she tweeted, "Anybody asking why I'm 'relevant' — cause none of you can apparently keep my name out of your mouth."
Meghan Mccain and Abby Huntsman's fight
When Abby Huntsman joined "The View" in 2018, Meghan McCain had an ally — she was no longer the only conservative on the panel. As daughters of famous politicians, the two had a lot in common and actually became close friends while previously working at Fox News. In 2020, when Huntsman announced her departure from "The View," rumors of a strained relationship with McCain surfaced. Anonymous sources told CNN Business that Huntsman had grown tired of the toxic work environment and her dispute with McCain played a role in her leaving.
"Abby was sick of being berated by Meghan for perceived slights," a source said. "She ultimately decided she didn't need this job and it wasn't worth it." At the time, McCain recently had a miscarriage and felt Huntsman was being insensitive by constantly talking about her children on the show. The two argued about it behind the scenes but reportedly made amends before Huntsman's exit. On "Watch What Happens Live" McCain confirmed the fight with Huntsman saying, "It's been really emotionally taxing to have like our friendship used this way in the media. It's taken a real toll on me." When Huntsman appeared on "The View" in 2021, many felt like she threw some shade at her former co-host by mentioning there were people on the show who made her days working there "too difficult" but they're now "gone." Joy Behar even chimed in telling her, "The panel's perfect now!"
She was rumored to be banned from speaking to staff on The View
After Meghan McCain's departure from "The View," she became a columnist for the Daily Mail. Worried that the former co-host would leak negative stories about the show, the Executive Producer of "The View," Brian Teta, reportedly banned staff from speaking to McCain (Via Page Six). Teta was reportedly unhappy with the behind-the-scenes details McCain revealed in her book "Bad Republican," and told staff to cut off all communication with her. A spokesperson for the show told Page Six that those rumors are untrue.
"No one has been banned from talking to Meghan. Our focus is on the exciting season ahead and we wish the best for Meghan in her next chapter," they said. Though McCain still has contact with the staff on "The View," it's hard to say whether she's still friends with her former co-hosts. After her departure, a source told Page Six the co-hosts were glad that she quit and they were ready to move on from her.
She stormed out of a meeting with ABC executives
Meghan McCain debating with her co-hosts is what she was hired by "The View" to do, but after an argument with Joy Behar went too far, ABC executives felt like they had to step in. News leaked to TMZ that ABC News President Kim Godwin called a meeting after on-air spats started getting too personal and toxic. Viewers were beginning to grow tired of McCain's constant squabbles and were begging ABC to fire her. In hopes of getting the show back on track, McCain and other staff members were invited to the meeting to resolve their issues internally.
Sources revealed that McCain stormed out of the meeting after feeling "attacked," and less than two months later, she announced her departure from the show. In an interview with Variety, McCain revealed she gave her own complaints about the work environment to HR, but felt ignored. She also revealed Godwin almost talked her out of leaving the show. "For the record, Kim almost talked me into staying," she said. "She seems like a great leader. When I was leaving, I gave her an explicit rundown of what's wrong with the show and what should change."
She allegedly wasn't pleasant to the staff on The View
It wasn't long after Meghan McCain joined the show that countless stories began to leak about her toxic behavior behind the scenes. Outlets like the Daily Mail reported that staff at "The View" nicknamed her "Elsa" because of her cold attitude to her co-hosts and staff. Due to the sources being anonymous, it was easy for McCain and ABC executives to publicly brush them off as baseless rumors. However, during one live taping of the show, audience members witnessed McCain's rude behavior for themselves when she screamed at her producers during a commercial break.
After a tense exchange with Whoopi Goldberg on-air, McCain got into a heated argument with a producer during the commercial break. A source told the Daily Mail, "Meghan seemed like she was reaching a breaking point during the confrontation with the producer." McCain later addressed her nickname and reports of her cold behavior to Variety. "My dad was dying of glioblastoma," she explained. "If I was cold, with this giant show with a group of strangers, I was trying to do well. There were never bad stories leaked about anyone else, and there was certainly bad behavior that could have leaked."
She's called out her former co-hosts for being shady
Meghan McCain's rift with Joy Behar continued even after she said goodbye to "The View." On Valentine's Day 2022, McCain certainly wasn't feeling the love from her former co-host. After McCain posted a lovey-dovey tribute to her husband, a Twitter user asked "Does every thought and sentiment need to be on Twitter?" with Behar tweeting and deleting, "Apparently." McCain didn't let this shady message slide. She tweeted a screenshot of the exchange with the message, "Imagine spending your Valentines Day trolling your ex colleagues tweet about her husband."
She followed that up with a since-deleted tweet comparing "The View" co-hosts to "ex's who won't stop drunk texting you" (Via People). In a response to another tweet, McCain called Behar's tweet "pathetic" and wrote, "it creeps me out." Behar never explained her tweet or responded to McCain, but it's safe to say that these two won't be exchanging Valentine's Day gifts next year.
She called The View a toxic work environment
In 2020, Meghan said on "Watch What Happens Live" that if she ever resigned from "The View," she wouldn't be bitter about her experience there. She even praised Whoopi Goldberg and her other co-hosts. "Whoopi is the anchor of the show and my life there, and she always picks us up if we're down," she said. But after leaving in 2021, she sang a different tune. While promoting her book "Bad Republican," she publicly called out "The View" for being a toxic workplace and claimed she was mistreated by her co-hosts.
In an interview with Variety McCain broke down in tears discussing her fallouts with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar. She described having anxiety attacks after arguments on air that she called "humiliating." "I love Whoopi. I felt at a certain point she stopped respecting me, and it was hard. I don't know why I'm crying so much," she said through tears. "I wish things could have been different."
McCain also revealed that she cried hysterically in her dressing room after Joy Behar told her on-air that she didn't miss her after she returned from maternity leave. "I was just so confused, because women when they have babies should be treated respectfully when they come back to work," she said. Sources at "The View" told TMZ that McCain leaving the show wasn't her own choice, she was allegedly forced out after an internal investigation found her to be the real source of the toxic behavior on set.