ABC Didn't Want Meghan McCain To Leave 'The View,' Network 'Begged Her To Stay': Source
ABC reportedly would have done anything to keep Meghan McCain on The View.
As OK! previously reported, the only conservative co-host on the popular daytime show announced her resignation during the Thursday, July 1, episode. "I'm just going to rip the band-aid off. I'm here to tell all of you, my wonderful cohosts, and the viewers at home that this is going to be my last season here at The View," the 36-year-old said. "I will be here through the end of July to finish out the season with all of you, which I am grateful for."
"This was not an easy decision. It took a lot of thought and counsel and prayer and talking to my family and close friends," McCain continued. "You know, look, COVID has changed the world for all of us and it changed the way, at least for me, the way I am looking at life, the way I am living my life, the way I want my life to look like."
The TV personality explained that relocating to the D.C. area from New York with husband Ben Domenech amid the pandemic impacted her decision to stay put. "We have this incredible life here. We’re surrounded by my family, his family, by friends, by this incredible support unit," McCain continued. "As any new mom knows, when I think of where I want [daughter] Liberty to have her first steps and first words… I felt like I didn’t want to leave."
However, according to a Disney source, ABC did not want to say goodbye to the talk show host. In fact, the network tried everything they could to keep her on.
“ABC begged for her to stay [and] she said ‘No — I’m done! I’m not staying anymore,” the source told Page Six.
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The daughter of late Senator John McCain has been with the show for four seasons, and apparently still had two years left in her contract.
McCain is known for speaking her mind — and stirring up trouble on the show.
In July, McCain got into an heated argument with the show’s moderator, Whoopi Goldberg, over former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden. The show unexpectedly cut to commercial, and both apologized for their behavior when they came back.
Despite McCain’s infamous heated conversations on air — especially with costars Goldberg and Joy Behar — the announcement of her leaving still comes as a shock, considering McCain's previous statements.
“Whether we like it or not, I’m not going anywhere on the show, Joy’s not going anywhere on the show, we all have to live and co-exist together like Americans right now,” McCain said in January during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “But we’re all going to try and co-exist and I really want to have us all move forward."
Besides preferring to remain in D.C., it's likely that the constant fighting with her cohosts may have played a role in the decision to depart the series, too.
