When Joy Behar Mysteriously Went Off ‘The View’: Here's What Happened

It's not a play for Joy Behar this time. Instead, The View co-host has been off from the daytime talk show due to COVID-19. The 81-year-old has successfully tricked the virus for four years, but it caught her off-guard. Her co-host and comedian Whoopi Goldberg informed the viewers during the recent episode aired on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. 

Goldberg began the show by confirming the news of the comedian contracting Coronavirus. "Hello and welcome to The View. Joy is out this week. [Do] You know why? She finally got COVID," reported Entertainment Weekly. The Sister Act star addressed the audience, which let out a disappointing sigh, "Three years, four years in, it finally got her."

The co-host of the all-women panelist, Sara Haines, joked that Behar "can finally stop bragging now" that she never got COVID-19, as the comedian always complained on the show. Meanwhile, the 55-year-old lawyer Sunny Hostin said she no longer can talk about her "special blood type" which saved her from the virus. 

Meanwhile, Yvette Nicole Brown filled in for Behar. She shared her excitement about joining the panel with strong women and said, "I'm so happy to be back. I missed you guys." However, the show hasn't revealed if she'd be on Behar's seat all week. But the community star and the fan favorite Brown seemed to have received love from everyone. 

Previously, Behar has been absent from the show due to COVID-19. In 2020, she took a few days off when she was at high risk of contracting it. She shared her precautionary decision with fans and well-wishers, "I'm in a higher risk group because of my age, but I'm perfectly healthy," per PEOPLE. "I don't look my age, but I'm actually up there. The number makes me dizzy." 

Behar has navigated the Coronavirus by taking abundant health precautions and social distancing. Although she was away from the show in 2022, she assured her fans it was not COVID-19. "I'm here to remind everybody, there are diseases out there besides COVID," she informed upon returning to work. 

Behar continued, "I had a virus, that's it, a really strong virus. I tested negative in five PCR tests. I did not have it. I still have never had it, but I'm a little worried about getting it now," per Daily Mail. The 81-year-old credited her husband, Steve Janowitz, for looking after her. "My husband was very good. He took care of me. I did not eat for four days. I was sick, and I just didn't get out of bed." 

Meanwhile, Tuesday's episode of The View witnessed another happy engagement news from the guest host, Brown. She showed off her ring to the camera and introduced her would-be husband. "That's Tony," she said with a gleaming smile. "We have known each other since we were in our 20s. We were in an acting class together at church years ago." 

"An auditorium was named after me in my old high school. We were celebrating that, and then we were at a party, and he gave me a scratcher, and on the scratcher, it said, "Will you marry me?" explained Brown. "I thought I was gonna win some money, and I won a man!" 

Editor's note: This article was originally published on December 13, 2023. It has since been updated.