Whoopi Goldberg Absent from 'The View' After COVID-19 Exposure: 'She Feels Fine and Healthy'

Whoopi Goldberg tested negative Wednesday morning

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Published on December 15, 2021 02:04 PM

Whoopi Goldberg is putting the health and safety of those around her first.

Goldberg was noticeably absent from The View on Wednesday after she was potentially exposed to COVID-19. Her co-host Joy Behar said that while Goldberg feels "fine and healthy," she will miss Thursday's show as well out of an abundance of caution.

"Whoopi wanted me to tell everyone because she feels fine and healthy but because she was in close contact with someone who tested positive, she won't be here today and tomorrow," Behar explained

Behar explained that while Goldberg has tested negative, the show's staff are prohibited from entering the premises if they've come in contact with the viral illness.

"If you're near someone who has been exposed and is positive, you can't come here. That's the way we operate here," Behar added. "She also wanted me to share that she tested negative earlier today and she had her booster. You will see her on Friday because we taped a show earlier this week."

Goldberg, who has been co-hosting the daytime series since 2007, revealed in March that she got her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"The most important step that everybody can do to end all that's happening is you got to get vaccinated," she said on The View. "And I am happy to tell you that last night, I finally got my first shot at New York's 24-hour vaccination site at the Javits Center."

"Let me tell you, I was sweating. When you look at it on the news, the needle looks this big. It turns out, the needle is this big and I didn't feel it," she continued, using her hands to show a measurement of the vaccine needle. "That was important. And I said to them, 'How do we tell people that it's not this gigantic thing?' We have to get folks in here to make that decision and also, to do it for other folks."

Goldberg said the only way society can return to normal is by getting vaccinated against the virus. "This is no joke. People are still dying," she said, adding that "we're on the road" to overcoming the pandemic.

The following month, Goldberg showed fans her experience getting her second COVID-19 shot.

"It's in, it's good, it's done," she said. "... As you see, I did it. I did it. So, I got my second shot."

And this isn't the first time the show has dealt with potential exposure to virus. During an episode of The View in late September, co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro were suddenly asked to leave the table in the middle of filming. Behar then revealed on-air that Hostin, 53, and Navarro, 49, had tested positive for COVID-19.

"No matter how hard we try, these things happen," Behar said after Hostin and Navarro exited. "They probably had a breakthrough case and they'll be okay, I'm sure, because they're both vaccinated ... And the vice president is being prepped for her arrival. They cleaned the table, they washed the hands. Everybody is getting all cleaned up and she'll be out here in a second."

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It was later revealed Hostin and Navarro's test results were false positives. "This is the update: We were all given numerous, numerous COVID tests," Behar said as co-host Sara Haines chimed in, "My nostrils are so sensitive."

"I am thrilled to report that Sunny and Ana's Friday results turned out to be false positives, and everyone is safe, healthy and COVID-free," Behar continued. "No one's got it. It was a mistake of some sort."

The View's executive producer Brian Teta then apologized to Hostin and Navarro on-air, saying "mistakes were made."

"That led to some really awkward television that I'd like to have back if I could," he said. "But I really want to acknowledge and apologize to Sunny and Ana, because in the midst of all this chaos, they were put in this position where they had this information put out on television."

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