Insider Claims Abby Huntsman Was Treated ‘Like Sh*t’ Prior To Her Exit From ‘The View’
An insider claims that Abby Huntsman was treated “like sh*t” prior to a startling announcement that she would exit The View for good on January 17. Abby, who has been with the series for two years, recently revealed that she would depart the talk show to help run the gubernatorial campaign for her father, Jon Huntsman, a former United States Ambassador to Russia.
Page Six reported that the same insider said that the overall environment at the show was “unhealthy,” which led the journalist to take her concerns to ABC before deciding to leave.
“Abby made an issue [to executives] about the overall environment. She’s felt for a while that things had to change. ABC treated Abby like sh*t, but everyone on the show gets treated like sh*t,” the source told Page Six. “She was smart enough to do something about it.”
The Page Six source said that show moderator, Whoopi Goldberg, had complained as well.
Huntsman made the decision to leave the series in December and personally told the staff and her co-hosts of her decision, reported Page Six. She then made a formal statement live on air January 13, noting that she was “excited” to help her father run his campaign.
Abby’s longtime friend Meghan McCain took to Instagram to applaud her pal, whom she once worked with at Fox News. Meghan wished her good luck in her future endeavors. Meghan noted that the show would be “less” without “the light” of her pal, Abby.
Despite Meghan’s good wishes for her friend, Page Six reported that the daughter of the late United States Senator John McCain has created what insiders are calling a “toxic environment” on the series.
Tensions have run high during panel chats between Meghan, Whoopi, Abby, Joy Behar, and Sunny Hostin for the show’s “Hot Topics” segment over the past several months.
During a particularly heated discussion, Whoopi addressed an uncomfortable exchange between herself and Meghan directly to the audience. She spoke of what appeared to be a conflict that occurred when Sunny and Meghan were at odds during a discussion regarding the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Whoopi, as moderator, attempted to step in as the women were speaking to stop them from talking over one another. This led Meghan to state that her opinion was being muffled. She remarked to Whoopi, “Do you want to hear a conservative perspective on the show, ever?”
“Girl! Please stop talking!” was Whoopi’s stunning reply to Meghan.
The View host said in her on-air comments following the exchange that her fellow panelists were “passionate” about their differing opinions and that sometimes they did not agree on topics. Whoopi also noted that one disagreement did not mean that there were any personal difficulties between the women.
