‘The View’: Whoopi Goldberg’s Lengthy Leave of Absence Sparks Concern Among Fans

Whoopi Goldberg’s lengthy leave of absence from the The View has sparked concern among fans, and now the show is addressing it.

Early in February, Goldberg stopped appearing on the daytime talk show, and as the days have turned into weeks, fans have been worried.

Series co-host Joy Behar informed viewers that Goldberg was out to due pneumonia, but some fans have still come up with alternate theories.

“Whoopi Goldberg’s absence from The View (she’s sick, they say) since the day after they announced her as an Oscar presenter+the fact that she’s the only previous Oscar host listed as a presenter+she openly said on The View in January that she’d be up for hosting=???” one fan tweeted, implying that maybe Goldberg is hosting the big award show on Sunday.

“I believe it. It makes sense to me that the Academy would rather go with a surprise host (people won’t have time to dig up their past problems) than no host at all,” another fan said.

The View has since commented on the fan-theories for Goldberg’s absence, with Behar stating, “Whoopi’s still out, she’s not feeling well and there’s all these conspiracy theories on the internet that she’s not really sick, she’s secretly preparing to host the Oscars.”

“Let me just set the record straight right now: Whoopi is on maternity leave, I’m sorry. It was a miracle!” she later quipped.

“She’s actually recovering from pneumonia, it’s a serious thing,” Behar then went on to say. “I don’t think she’s going to be able to host the Oscars and I’m sure she’s very disappointed. She’s not even well enough to host this show right now.”

At this time, Goldberg has not publicly commented on her time off from the series, but her co-hosts seem confident that she will return soon.