Joy Behar was unexpectedly missing from The View on Thursday after suffering a dislocated shoulder. The injury created an unusual opening at the center of the Hot Topics table because the show’s regular moderator, Whoopi Goldberg, was already away for a previously scheduled acting job.
Sunny Hostin broke the news at the start of the October 1 broadcast. “Unfortunately, our dear friend Joy dislocated her shoulder,” she told viewers, according to Entertainment Weekly, before adding that Behar is recovering and “will be back soon.”
Neither Behar nor the show has publicly explained how the 83-year-old injured herself, and no specific return date has been announced.
With Goldberg unavailable and Behar unable to step into her usual backup role, Hostin became Thursday’s moderator. Former cohost Sherri Shepherd was also at the table, but her return had already been scheduled before Behar’s injury and was not part of the last-minute reshuffling.
Hostin Found Herself in the Moderator Chair Instead
Hostin acknowledged immediately that sitting in the center seat was unusual. With Goldberg and Behar both absent, she joked that “the two OGs are out today” and that the assignment had apparently gone to the “next oldest” cohost before revising that description to “seasoned.”
Hostin has been a permanent View cohost since 2016, according to ABC’s official biography. She regularly leads individual discussions at the table, but the formal moderator role has generally belonged to Goldberg, with Behar serving as the principal substitute when Goldberg is away.
Goldberg’s Absence Had Been Planned for Weeks
Entertainment Weekly previously reported that Goldberg would miss several broadcasts over a roughly two-week period while filming the Netflix movie Women Like Us, while still returning for Monday episodes when her shooting schedule allowed.
Production on the movie officially began in late September. Netflix’s Tudum lists Goldberg alongside Jenifer Lewis, Vanessa Williams and Vivica A. Fox in the dramedy, which follows a recently widowed woman taken to the Hamptons by her sister and longtime friends on what would have been her 30th wedding anniversary.
The film is directed by Tasha Smith and produced by MACRO Film Studios and Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama. Netflix lists Michelle Obama as an executive producer for Higher Ground, making the movie the reason Goldberg was already away when Behar’s injury disrupted Thursday’s hosting plan.
Sherri Shepherd’s Return Was Already on ABC’s Schedule
Shepherd’s presence could have looked like another emergency substitution, but ABC had announced her return well before Thursday’s broadcast. The network’s official September 25 schedule listed Shepherd as the October 1 guest cohost as part of a series of former View personalities temporarily returning during Goldberg’s filming absence.
ABC’s weekly lineup scheduled Lisa Ling for September 29, Debbie Matenopoulos for September 30 and Shepherd for October 1. Thursday’s previously announced guests were Harry Connick Jr. and Susan G. Komen CEO Amber Guild.