The View faced a heavy backlash online on Tuesday when moderator Whoopi Goldberg seemingly ‘cut off’ co-host Sunny Hostin during a serious discussion about Israel and Palestine – only to return after the commercial break to talk Taylor Swift.
Sunny, 55, was highlighting how the ‘Palestinian people have not elected their government’ as she discussed ‘illegal occupations’ and ‘illegal settlements’.
But Whoopi, 67, interjected: ‘I’m gonna stop you for a second.’
Referring to a member of the crew off camera, she continued: ‘I’m gonna stop you because… he’s… we have to go to a break.’
Fans tuning into The View on Tuesday were not impressed when moderator Whoopi Goldberg, 67, seemingly ‘cut off’ one of her co-hosts
Sunny Hostin, 55, was mid-flow talking about Palestine when the daytime show suddenly had to go to a commercial break
Joy Behar, 81, (left) listened intently as mother-of-two Sunny calmly shared her thoughts
Fans were fuming to find talk had swiftly turned to Taylor and the price of her concert tickets after the break, and accused bosses of deciding to ‘switch topics’ because Sunny was ‘willing to speak the truth’.
‘So, producers told them to go to this fluff Taylor Swift topic when we have real ish happening in the world #TheView (sic),’ one person tweeted.
Another said: ‘Sunny is the only one willing to speak the truth about this and they cut her off #TheView.’
A third fumed: ‘Wait… so they’ve talked about ONE actual important topic?! Suddenly they’ve moved onto fluff bullsh** like Taylor Swift’s tickets?! Grow up ladies !!!!’
A fourth person raged: ‘Who gives an entire hell or damn about whatever Taylor Swift does?! Get back to news! Important sh** we should give a crap about !!!!’
Another asked: ‘So are we just gonna ignore how they cut the conversation short about the genocide going on in Palestine ? And switched to Taylor swift ticket sales?’
Sunny was keen to remind everyone, including her co-hosts, that the ‘Palestinian people have not elected their government’
Viewers voiced their frustrations online over the decision to cut to a commercial break
Alyssa Farah Griffin, 34, declared the situation ‘a terrorist crisis’ and said that Jews ‘didn’t get a chance to mourn’ their own people
Other viewers felt that producers need to rethink who is sat on the panel, with one writing: ‘I think The View should have a balanced co-host desk for opinions from all sides and points of views on different hot topics.’
Another urged: ‘@TheView Please bring someone on the show that knows what they’re talking about when it comes to the middle east, particularly the conflict between Israel’s and Palestinians. It’s been 2 straight weeks of ignorance to a wide audience.’
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, and at least 199 others, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza, according to Israeli authorities, after the organization launched an attack on Israel on October 7.
During the discussion, Whoopi spoke about ‘a spike in anti-Semitism and islamophobia’ in the US as Joy Behar, 81, pointed out that ‘innocent people always suffer in wars’.
She continued: ‘It’s heartbreaking what’s going on, but people have to speak out against all of that… all bigotry, all anti-Semitism. We cannot remain silent, I think there’s a lot of silence right now.’
However, Whoopi disagreed and replied: ‘See, I don’t think there is a lot of silence right now. I think people are trying to figure out what to say and how to say it.’
Sunny then spoke up and pointed out: ‘We are now learning the historical context around the conflict, and I think people have always been very afraid to talk about the conflict and be labeled an anti-Semite.
Former White House aide Alyssa attempted to butt in right before Sunny was ‘cut off
Mother-of-three Sara Haines, 46, quoted former President Barack Obama when she spoke up
Palestinians look for survivors amid the rubble of a building hit in an Israeli air strike in Khan Yunis on the southern Gaza Strip on October 24
‘There’s always been racism this this country. This country was founded unfortunately on racism, it was given permission, and people have been anti-Semitic since the beginning of time in the country.’
Alyssa Farah Griffin deemed the situation ‘a terrorist crisis’ as she explained: ‘There’s likely Hamas militants in Israel from what we’re hearing and still hostages being held.
‘Every year on Holocaust Remembrance Day we say, “never again and never again should six million Jews be murdered because of bigotry and the world remained silent for too long”…. never again is right now! There is a duty.
‘My Jewish friends had to sit and hear people blame them for the slaughter of innocent Jews while the bodies were still warm, while they were still mourning their loss.’
Alyssa continued: ‘They didn’t get a chance to mourn what happened to the over thousand Jews that were killed. They are one of the only people groups on earth, who their right to exist, is constantly questioned.’
When co-host Sara Haines, 46, mentioned the fact that ‘previous Israeli governments made meaningful efforts to resolve the dispute’ but efforts were ‘ultimately rebuffed time and time again’, Sunny was keen to have her say again.
‘What I would remind everyone is, if you look at your history, Hamas hasn’t had a free democratic election since 2005, and so the Palestinian people have not elected their government…’
