Joy Behar denied reports that she has plans in place to retire from “The View,” calling them “greatly exaggerated.”
During a Thursday segment of the show, which Behar and her co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin and Meghan McCain were hosting from their homes due to the coronavirus crisis, Behar declared that she has no plans to leave “The View.”
“They’re always talking about my leaving the show,” the 77-year-old said. “I’m not leaving the show. Let me say that rumors of my retirement have been greatly exaggerated.”
Behar added that the coronavirus pandemic has “changed the game” and that the idea of retiring and perhaps taking “a cruise around the world” is now out the window.
“I won’t even watch reruns of ‘Love Boat’ at this point, so where am I going to go?” she continued. “What will I do? I need to be on television.”
On Wednesday, Variety reported that Behar had plans to retire from the daytime talk show after her contract ends in the summer of 2022.
The report noted that the co-host revealed her plans to retire in a new interview for the book “Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of ‘The View,’” by Variety’s New York Bureau Chief Ramin Setoodeh.
“I have a three-year contract, but that doesn’t mean I can’t leave if I want to, because they can’t really do anything to me at this point,” Behar said, according to Variety. “I don’t see myself staying for more [time]. That’s it! I could be wrong. If I’m as fabulous in [2022] as I am now, I’ll think about. But the chances of that happening … You know, time marches on. I’m not a kid.”
The Variety report also cited multiple unnamed sources who told the publication that Behar has suggested she’d exit the show in 2022.
A spokesperson for ABC told Variety it was “not true” that Behar has plans to retire.
Later in Thursday’s segment of “The View,” Behar discussed the prospect of retiring further, saying, “As of now, as of today, the answer is no, I’m going nowhere.”
Elsewhere in the segment Behar joked that she can’t leave television since she’s often used as fodder for right-wing media.
“Let’s not forget that I provide employment for right-wing media,” she said. “I’m a job creator over at Breitbart. Everything I say appears on Breitbart. I don’t see how I could leave.”
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