‘The View’: Sunny Hostin Admits Whoopi Goldberg’s Health Crisis Was ‘Very Scary’

Whoopi Goldberg’s recent medical emergency was a terrifying experience for everyone at The View.

The morning show co-host spent some time out of the spotlight as she recovered from double pneumonia, and co-host Sunny Hostin opened up about the stress of almost losing the show’s “rock.”

“It’s been so wonderful to have [Goldberg] back,” Hostin told Us Weekly this week. “It’s been very scary. What most people didn’t know is that we were visiting her in the hospital, so I had the chance to see her very, very sick, and it was scary because she is our rock and our moderator.”

Goldberg surprised her cohosts, including Hostin, Joy Behar, Meghan McCain, Ana Navarro and Abby Huntsman, with a cameo appearance on the March 14 episode, telling them that she is still recovering from her health scare.

“To see her come back and surprise us… it felt like home,” Hostin told the publication. “I felt like everything was back to normal, so it’s been wonderful.”

Hostin went on to say she could not imagine the popular talk show without Goldberg on the panel.

“We are a family, and it was tough,” the lawyer, who has been on The View since 2016, added. “I think Joy has done a wonderful job of keeping our family together because she’s been with the show since the very beginning, and she really stepped in and stepped up and kept us together… but we are happy that Whoopi is back. But she’s not back full-time yet. She’s back a couple of days a week. She has to take her time because she was very, very, very sick.”

After being absent from the show for a month, Goldberg shared a pre-taped message with viewers where she spoke about her life-threatening illness.

“I’m not dead,” she told viewers during the March 8 episode. “So here’s what happened: I had pneumonia, and I was septic. Pneumonia in both lungs, which means there was fluid, there was all kinds of stuff going on. And yes, I came very, very close to leaving the Earth. Good news, I didn’t.”

“Thank you for all of your good wishes. And all of the wonderful things that you have been saying… And ladies, I cannot wait to see y’all,” Goldberg added. “This has been interesting and I’ll tell you about it when we’re all at the table. See you soon.”

During her surprise appearance on March 14, Goldberg elaborated on the terrifying experience, telling viewers to make sure they are taking care of themselves.

“They had to pump a lot of stuff out of me,” she said. “So, you know, this is a cautionary tale for all of us. You must really take care of yourself because there’s little tiny stuff out there that will kill you that you never think of.”