Whoopi Goldberg was forced to miss Tuesday’s Season 27 premiere of “The View” after contracting COVID for the third time.
When the ABC show returned to air after a four-week summer break, Joy Behar stepped in as host while Whoopi, 67, was noticeably absent because she had tested positive for the 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, prompting her to add, “Yes. ‘It’s back, it’s back.’
Joy continued: “But she’s on the mend, she’s finished.” “I’m sorry to those who were looking forward to seeing her.”
Whoopi Goldberg had to miss The View on Tuesday after falling ill with COVID
The popular ABC show “The View” is back with a 27th season full of debates and hot topics
During the four-week summer break, Whoopi has been very quiet on social media and has not posted anything on Instagram since July 27th.
The “Sister Act” star was also conspicuously absent from an event in late August celebrating her latest career project.
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 was in attendance to support the cover of her Cannabis Cactus magazine, as the magazine was a media partner of the event.
It is not certain whether Whoopi was absent because she had already tested positive for COVID.
This is not the first time the actress has fallen ill with coronavirus, as she was forced to take a break from the show in early 2022 after showing symptoms between Christmas 2021 and New Year’s Eve.
Whoopi said at the time that she was feeling unwell after Christmas and had only mild symptoms. So she took a test and then rang in the New Year by resting in bed, listening to audio books and watching the ball drop.
This is the third time Whoopi has been forced to take time off from The View due to COVID
“It was a shock because I’m triple vaccinated, I wasn’t anywhere, I didn’t do anything,” she said in a statement.
“It’s one of those things where you think, I’ve done everything I’m supposed to do… Yeah, that’s not stopping Omicron.”
“I don’t know how much more evidence people need to see that vaccination – even if it doesn’t necessarily prevent it from coming back, it doesn’t happen at the same rate as before,” she added.
Whoopi contracted COVID again in November 2022 and took time off work again, making her absent from the show for the third time due to the virus.
After returning to work in November 2022, she told the panel: “You can have a rebound within an inch of your life and next thing you know you’ve got Covid again.” But I don’t have it now and that’s why I’m back at the table. “
She continued: “I tell you, we’re used to people saying, ‘Oh [Covid] that’s not so bad 1693929976“But that was a difficult question.”
Viewers tuning in on Tuesday reacted to the news on Twitter, with one person posting: “Whoopi caught COVID so many times. ‘Gosh #TheView.’
Another joked: “Whoopi having Covid and missing the season 27 premiere seems like a hate crime to me #TheView.”
When she returned to work after contracting COVID in 2022, Whoopi said it was a “difficult thing to do.”
A third fan admitted: “Wait, #Whoopi has #Covid and isn’t on #TheView.” “I really don’t like it when Whoopi isn’t around.”
A fourth person added: “Whoopi not being here in the first episode of the season feels like a personal attack on me.” #TheView.”