‘The View’: Fans Once Signed a Petition to Have a TV Star Co-Host Fired
The View is one of ABC’s longest-running shows — you either love it or you hate it. It seems like everyone has something to say about the show.
And it probably has something to do with the rotating cast of opinionated hosts. From Elizabeth Hasselbeck to Rosie O’Donnell and Meghan McCain and Whoopi Goldberg, there’s no shortage of opinions on The View.
And that’s the way it’s supposed to be, right? After all, the point of the show is for the hosts to share their “view.” But fans aren’t always happy with the views shared on the show and they’ve shown their own view in a strong and forceful way.
How long has ‘The View’ been on the air?
ABC’s The View first premiered on August 11, 1997. The brainchild of news anchor Barbara Walters, the show quickly gained a huge following.
The show was able to relate to audiences and brought a whole new format to TV — one that has since been replicated over and over. With Walters at the helm, the show also featured Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos, and Joy Behar.
Since its premiere, the show has seen several hosting changes. Matenopoulos was the first to leave in 1999 and Walters left the show she created in 2014. Today the show features Meghan McCain, Abby Huntsman, Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, and Whoopi Goldberg.
While the show initially saw universal success, today critics site the show as a liberal-based talk show.
Fans once signed a petition to get a certain host removed
The View has dealt with its share of controversy. And fans (and critics) are never afraid to speak their minds. In fact, there have been several occasions where there have been petitions to have certain hosts removed from the show.
In 2015, fans petitioned to have former Disney star Raven Symone removed from the show. Fans argued that Symone made several inappropriate remarks and was not a good representative for people of color.
A petition from change.org states that the actress was “spouting her ignorant and self-hating spiel on the view for Long enough.” While there were several incidents in question, it was Symone’s remarks about a school police officer assaulting a student that had fans demanding the star’s removal. The conversation in question begins at 2:50 in the video below.
The petition gained significant support with nearly 140,000 signatures. But ABC supported their host, stating, “We love Raven. She is confident, genuine and opinionated, all qualities that make her a great addition to the panel.”
Symone left the show in 2016 to participate in the That’s So Raven sequel.
This wasn’t the only time fans have petitioned to have a host leave
The petition for Symone’s removal doesn’t really come as a surprise. The View has been the subject of many scandals. In fact, now fans are petitioning to have Meghan McCain step down.
McCain has been the center of several disputes on the show and is the only Republican representative on the panel.
The recent petition sounds very familiar to the one against Symone in 2015. This petition (also through change.org) states that McCain brings “sourness and immaturity” to the show. So far the petition has over 5,000 supporters, but the hosts are taking it too seriously.
Goldberg and McCain recently addressed an argument between the two hosts that got quite a bit of attention. During the argument, Goldberg told McCain to “stop talking” to which McCain was obviously taken aback.
But Goldberg told the audience, “things get heated,” noting previous arguments and comparing the argument to discussions at everyone’s dinner table. McCain agreed with Goldberg’s sentiments saying that she loves her co-host very much and they get along great.
