ABC’s The View finally addressed the Jimmy Kimmel controversy on Monday. Host Whoopi Goldberg declared, “No one silences us.”
The show had stayed quiet after ABC pulled Kimmel from the air. His suspension followed controversial remarks about the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk. Critics suggested the network pressured The View to stay silent.
Goldberg said the hosts “took a breath” to see if Kimmel would comment on his suspension first.
“Now, look, did y’all really think we weren’t going to talk about Jimmy Kimmel?” Goldberg said. “I mean, have you watched the show over the last 29 seasons? So you know no one silences us, and to all my friends who reached out, you have to know, it’s OK, we’re still here. We’re still broadcasting. And when the news broke last week about Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, we took a breath to see if Jimmy was going to say anything about it first. We did the same thing with Stephen Colbert. Then our show was on tape on Friday, but we are live here today, and we’re getting into it now.”
Co-host Ana Navarro thanked viewers “for demanding truth and courage from us.” The segment focused on free speech and criticism of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The hosts’ previous silence had raised eyebrows. On Thursday’s episode, which is taped under ABC’s news division, the Kimmel story was not mentioned, even though it dominated news coverage. Friday’s pre-taped show also skipped the topic.
Comedian Bill Maher commented on the silence during Real Time: “I’m friendly with the ladies on ‘The View,’ but they didn’t say anything about this, this week. Nothing. You know, because it’s never been their thing to weigh in on the issues. It’s just an upbeat party show. That’s why they hired people named Joy [Behar] and Sunny [Hostin] and Whoopi [Goldberg].”
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, a former View co-host, also noticed the quiet. “And it was visible. I was on ‘The View.’ Those women are fearless, and the story didn’t come up. I mean, it’s obviously being felt and acted upon at ABC more broadly,” she said last week.