Whoopi Goldberg’s ‘View’ Contract ‘Is Up’ in a Year, There’s Talk ‘About Replacing Her’: Source
Whoopi Goldberg's on-air gaffes and egotistical antics behind the scenes have network execs ready to change the channel on The View's long-running cohost, a TV insider exclusively tells Closer.
"Whoopi's getting on everyone's last nerve and there's a lot of talk going around about replacing her," says the source. "It really seems like this could be it for her."
The EGOT winner has cohosted the daytime talk show for 15 years, but according to our insider, her attitude and meltdowns have the bosses at ABC wondering if it's time to give the 68-year-old her walking papers.
"Her contract is up in 12 months and a lot of people are convinced the show could do better without her," the source says. "They are already discussing who could take over for her."
As previously reported, the host has clashed with colleagues over the years and was forced to apologize in 2022 after making perceived antisemitic comments. Whoopi's also missed a number of shows due to health concerns, including a near-fatal battle with double pneumonia in 2019 and three bouts of COVID.
"She's going to have to really prove herself if she doesn't want to get replaced, and her constant troublemaking and arguing aren't winning her any favors with her bosses," the source says.
And it's not just Whoopi whose job is on the chopping block. Her cohosts — fellow veteran Joy Behar, 81, as well as Sunny Hostin, 55, Alyssa Farah Griffin, 34, and Sara Haines, 46 — are also facing the axe, insists our insider.
"Whoopi and the gang are very aware the upcoming election season and its aftermath represent a make-it-or-break-it moment for The View. It's time to focus on making great daytime television and put the squabbling and ego battles aside," the source says.
"The gravy train isn't going to run forever, and ABC is not committing to anything more than another 12 months of this show. Being a program people love to hate isn’t going to cut it anymore, and Whoopi, as the leader of the group, needs to buckle down, focus and avoid the kind of missteps that generate negative headlines," adds the insider. "It's time to be a serious TV program again and not the media train-wreck that it's largely become in recent years."
