Many fans of The View eagerly tuned in to this morning’s, Sept. 18, broadcast, hoping to hear the slew of hosts’ hot takes over the indefinite cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel‘s late-night show following his response to Charlie Kirk’s death, but folks were left disappointed as Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin glossed over the news—and by glossed over, we mean skipped altogether.
It was a stark contrast to their response to the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which likely has to do with the fact that Kimmel and the ladies of The View are employed by the same parent company, ABC, whereas Colbert is under the CBS umbrella.
“I don’t believe in squelching free speech at all – especially when it’s funny!” Behar said following the news, while Goldberg promised, “Colbert, we’re supporting you. We got your back”—although she kept her full thoughts to herself out of fear of giving opponents of the late-night host any “ideas.”
As backlash over the network’s response to Kimmel’s statement grows, fans were looking forward to hearing what the group of daytime commentators was thinking, and they took to a variety of threads on the show’s subreddit to express their frustration with what they presumed to be a gag order from the executives—and the hosts’ complacency.
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“Wow! I am stunned there is no mention of the Kimmel situation,” one Redditor wrote, with others predicting that the show itself is now “at such a high risk to be cancelled as well.”
“Talking about breakups?” somebody else vented. “That‘s so trivial compared to all the stuff going on.”
“They may have to start talking about more things not to do with trump admin to stay on the air,” another suggested. “What a mess this timeline is.”
“The View is a news opinion show…they have the right and protection to say what they feel, that is the basis of the show,” another emphatic fan pointed out, calling the response—or lack thereof—”SHAMEFUL.”
“It’s so hypocritical of the network,” another wrote in frustration. “We spent a week talking how we don’t condone political violence. We can disagree. Use your words. Free speech. First amendment. And then they punish Jimmy for using his words.”
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“Especially when so much of the panel often takes the position that people with a platform NEED to speak out,” another viewer pointed out. “Like ok, speak out against ABC’s insanity if you feel that way!”
“They should walk off. Boycott these companies with the power of the purse,” one suggested, adding, “I just quit Hulu Disney bundle.” Countless others chimed in to share that they had just cancelled—or were about to cancel—their subscriptions, too.
However, some felt they deserved a bit of “grace” given the timing of everything. “They’re probably brainstorming how they wanna go about addressing this,” one guessed. “I think it’s better to have a united front. I’ll let them sit on it for a few days.”
While today’s show was live, tomorrow’s is set to air as a pre-taped episode, which was filmed following this morning’s broadcast. Fans are holding onto a bit of hope that the panel may say something yet, but most aren’t holding their breath—and likely won’t be tuning in.
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