‘The View’: Former Host Jenny McCarthy Says Whoopi Goldberg Has an ‘Addiction to Controlling People’s Thoughts’
Whoopi Goldberg joined the panel of The View in 2007. Since then, the actor has been in the middle of several feuds within the daytime talk show. Several former hosts, including Rosie O’Donnell and Jenny McCarthy, claimed to have difficulty working with the Sister Act star.
In 2019, McCarthy spoke more about her former co-star for a book called Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View.
Jenny McCarthy and Whoopi Goldberg co-hosted ‘The View’ for one year
The View aired its first episode on Aug. 11, 1997. The show was created and hosted by famed journalist Barbara Walters. For the inaugural season, the original hosting panel consisted of Walters, Meredith Viera, Debbie Matenopolous, Joy Behar, and Star Jones. However, the hosts have frequently changed since The View progressed. In 2007, the daytime show added Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd after Jones decided to leave.
McCarthy was one of the hosts added on in The View’s later seasons. She signed on to the show in 2013 after pitching a talk show for several years. Although the actor had experience hosting shows such as the 1995 MTV dating series Singled Out, McCarthy had an utterly different experience on The View. Not only did she bump heads with Barbara Walters over the show’s “hot topics,” but she and Goldberg also didn’t connect when they worked together, per Vulture.
“I loved her in Ghost,” McCarthy said of Goldberg. “I’m a fan. I thought I was going to work with the Whoopi that people thought they might know — fun and funny.”
Jenny McCarthy described Whoopi Goldberg as ‘controlling’
During her chat with Ladies Who Punch author Ramin Setoodeh, McCarthy provided more in-depth information about working with Goldberg on The View. In one passage, the Santa Baby actor said her co-host’s voice is “strong not only in meaning but also in sound.” The Color Purple star’s alleged boisterous voice made McCarthy feel left out in the panel conversations.
“I was able to get a point out in three words — like ‘I don’t agree’ — and that’s all I would be able to say. I would be stepped on or interrupted,” she said.
“To me, Whoopi had an addiction to controlling people’s thoughts, their words, the room, the table, your feeling, your mood,” she continued. “She had an addiction to controlling all of it and everybody.”
Former ‘The View’ co-host Rosie O’Donnell also made comments about working with Goldberg
McCarthy ended up leaving The View in 2014. In addition to her not wanting to be in the middle of Goldberg and Walters’ disagreements over moderating the show’s debates, McCarthy also felt controlled by Walters.
After the John Tucker Must Die star left The View, O’Donnell returned to the show after a long hiatus. However, according to Best Life, she told Howard Stern why she didn’t come back for another season. When asked why the comedian didn’t come back, she said Goldberg’s attitude toward O’Donnell made her want to leave The View.
“I think we all agreed that the last time…it was better for everyone,” she said. “Whoopi really didn’t like me.”
O’Donnell also added that viewers should look back at old episodes to see how she and Goldberg interacted with each other to see why she exited the show.
The View airs weekday mornings on ABC.
