Where’s Whoopi Goldberg? That’s the question that viewers have been asking themselves for the past week when tuning in to watch “The View.”
For the past week, Goldberg has been absent from the long-running talk show. Goldberg has been on the show starting in 2007. She joined during the show’s 11th season and has become one of its longest-running members outside of Barbara Walters (who left in Season 17) and Joy Behar. But Goldberg hasn’t been on “The View,” starting on Jun 21st.
And fans aren’t just worried, Behar admitted that the co-hosts are also “so worried” about the actor. Online, several fans have openly discussed Goldberg’s absence, according to Pop Culture. One user wrote: “Whoopi is still out……” Another commented, “Bring back Whoopi next week a lot of us miss her.”
And yet another user wrote: “Where is Whoopi? What the hell.”
So why is Whoopi Goldberg absent from “The View”? Well, according to her co-hosts, its’ because of her sciatica. Sciatica is pain associated with the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back to each leg. The pain usually affects one side of the body and can be debilitating. Within severe cases, sometimes surgery is required to alleviate symptoms associated with the condition.
Whoopi Goldberg Absent From ‘The View’
During the June 24th episode of “The View,” Behar revealed to viewers why Goldberg has been absent. She said, “Good morning and welcome to ‘The View.’ Whoopi is out again today with her sciatica problem.” She also said they were worried about her “but I think it’s under control.”
It’s not the first time that Goldberg has temporarily left the show. Back in 2015, Goldberg also took a leave of absence from “The View” due to pain in her sciatic nerve. Due to the absence, “The View” has temporarily filled Goldberg’s position on the show. Ana Navarro usually only appears during Friday episodes. But for the past week, she’s taken over as the fifth host. Meanwhile, moderating duty has fallen to Behar.
Currently, “The View” doesn’t know when Goldberg will return to the show. But the actor should make a return once she recovers from her condition. Previously, Goldberg said she planned to stay with “The View” for as long as she could. She wanted to be a part of the show until she finally retires from the entertainment business.
“As long as they allow me to do both [acting and hosting], I can do it,” Goldberg said. For the entertainer, she prefers acting over hosting on “The View.” So far in her duties as host, Goldberg has been able to balance both sides of her career. During her tenure on the show, Goldberg garnered several Daytime Emmys and also an Outstanding Talk Show Host win as well.
