‘The View’ Unveils ‘Big A— Table’ During Show Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The ladies of The View are practicing social distancing on the air amid growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. During Monday’s episode of the ABC morning talk show, co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin and Meghan McCain, along with special guests Sara Haines and Dr. Jennifer Ashton, were seen seated around a giant table, allowing them to maintain several feet of personal space.

“Hello, welcome to The View, y’all, and to our very big a– table,” Goldberg quipped at the beginning of the show. The new co-host’s table drew plenty of remarks from fans, who took to social media to comment. “Love the new table keeping the host of [The View] further apart,” wrote one fan. “Very smart.” Another wrote: “To quote [Whoopi Goldberg], that’s a ‘big a– table’ to help with [social distancing].”

“By the end of the week, methinks the table on [The View] will be a half-block wide,” joked somebody else.

The debut of the giant table comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public officials encourage Americans to practice social distancing to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, and it marks just the latest step The View has taken to ensure its co-hosts’ safety.

Beginning last week, the talk show began taping without its typical in-studio audience, the co-hosts instead seating themselves at a table surrounded by dozens of empty chairs that would typically be filled with fans.

“It’s a historic day,” Goldberg said. “The coronavirus situation is still developing and for the first time ever, as you can see, we made the decision not to have a studio audience.”

“This is unprecedented, this has never happened on The View,” she added.

Meanwhile, Joy Behar has taken a step back from the talk show all together, the 77-year-old deciding to do so at the encouragement of her daughter.

“I’m in a higher risk group because of my age, but I’m perfectly healthy,” she announced. “I don’t look my age, but I’m actually up there. The number makes me dizzy.”

Several other talk shows have also began taking precautionary measures, including fellow ABC series Live with Kelly and Ryan, which is also airing without an in-studio audience.