Why Is Joy Behar Absent from The View? Here’s What You Need to Know.
The View cohost Joy Behar was absent for the fourth consecutive episode of the talk show.
On Thursday, January 29, during an episode of the show, moderator Whoopi Goldberg commented on Behar’s absence from the Hot Topics table.
“I know you noticed that Joy isn’t here today. She will be back next week,” the 70-year-old Goldberg explained. “You saw she wasn’t here. We certainly weren’t lowering her down from the ceiling. But she’ll return.”
Behar, 83, who usually takes Mondays off, has been away from the show since Friday, January 23. On Tuesday, January 27, Goldberg informed the audience that Behar was “not feeling well,” but did not elaborate further.
“We want you to know Joy is out; she’s not well, and we hope she feels better and comes back,” Goldberg mentioned.
Behar’s current absence from The View follows a similar situation when she missed four episodes in November 2025 due to a health issue.
During that time, Behar shared with the audience, “I’ve been off for a few days. I dropped my iPad on my foot, and I broke my toe. They put the toes together because it’s broken, and it’s extremely painful. I do not recommend dropping anything on your toes.”
Behar has been a cohost on The View since its debut in 1997. In 2013, it was announced that she would be stepping down from her role.
At that time, Behar reflected, “You reach a point when you ask yourself, ‘Do I want to continue doing this?’ There are other projects I want to pursue.” She expressed this sentiment to Deadline. “I’ve been writing a play, and my standup has been on hold. I enjoy talk shows, and I love engaging in conversations with people.”
Shortly after, ABC released a statement stating, “Joy Behar has played a vital role in the success of The View since its inception. We wish her the best in this new chapter and are delighted to have her for the rest of the season.”
Years later, Behar disclosed that she was let go by the network.
“I was actually glad to be fired,” she mentioned in a 2022 interview with Time. “I was just tired of the show for some reason; I can’t even remember why.”
Whoopi Goldberg was noticeably absent from the season 27 premiere of The View, but her cohost Joy Behar reassured fans that she would return soon. “As you can see, Whoopi is not here. She has COVID,” Behar, 80, explained during the Tuesday, September 5, episode of the talk show. “Yes, it’s back. It’s back! But […]
Behar returned to the show in 2015 and has been a consistent presence since then.
“Just when I thought I was out, they brought me back in,” she humorously stated at the time, joking that her husband Steve Janowitz “was getting tired of applauding every time I voiced my opinion.” (Behar married Janowitz in 2011 and shares a daughter, Eve, 55, with her first husband, Joe Behar.)
She added, “But I’m thrilled to be back. I look forward to sharing my thoughts on hot topics, especially with Hillary [Clinton] and Donald [Trump] currently in the limelight.”
