Why Whoopi Goldberg Missed The View's Season 27 Premiere

Don't worry, Whoopi Goldberg will be returning to The View's regularly scheduled programming ASAP.

After the longtime moderator missed the talk show's season 27 premiere, Joy Behar was quick to reassure fans. 

"As you can see, Whoopi is not here. She has COVID," the 80-year-old said during the September 5 episode. "Yes, it's back. It's back! But she's on the mend. She's on the tail end, and she'll probably be back this week. But sorry she's not here, for those of you who were looking forward to seeing her."

Joy—the only original co-host still on the show—also made a quip about her 25 seasons at the Hot Topics table. "We're back. Thank you," the comedian said as she greeted the studio audience. "This is the premiere show of our 27th year on the air. I was here for all of it, except for two, when they canned me. When they sacked my behind."

And for this 27^th season, the talk show saw all of the season 26 panelists—including Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro—back at the table.

While Joy's been a mainstay throughout the show's entire history, Whoopi has been a co-host of The View since 2007. And during her 16 years on the show, the Sister Act star has had plenty of memorable on-air moments. 

Most recently, she weighed in on the concert-selfie debate after Miranda Lambert called out some fans who were taking photos during her Las Vegas residency show earlier this summer. As for Whoopi's thoughts on the matter?

"You know what? Stay home," the Oscar winner said pointedly. "If you're going to spend $750 to come to my concert, then give me the respect of watching me while I do my thing, or don't come."

And to drive her point further, Whoopi then got up from her seat and walked towards the front row of the studio audience. 

"I'm leaving y'all! I want to take a picture with this marvelous woman, who is 91. So, we're going to do a selfie," she called out, before approaching the audience member as the show went to a commercial break. "Just me and you. Will you push that button? We'll be right back."