‘The View’ Fans Sound off With Coronavirus ‘Doomsday’ Comments After Massive Table Is Revealed During Taping

The View’s national audience was taken by surprise after Monday’s episode of the ABC morning talk show unveiled a massive new table for co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin and Meghan McCain which will allow them to keep several feet of space between them as they put on a show amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Appearing alongside guests Sara Haines and Dr. Jennifer Ashton during Monday’s show, Goldberg quipped of the new set dressing, “Hello, welcome to The View, y’all, and to our very big a– table.”

People watching at home certainly had plenty of opinions on the change. Keep scrolling to read some of their reactions and learn more about what The View is doing to keep its stars safe.

Confused

Some of The View‘s audience was confused as to the new addition to the set and how it plays into the general “doomsday vibe” some were feeling.

Amused

Others simply couldn’t help but laugh at the new table.

Applause

Still others thought it was an appropriate use of their platform to showcase social distancing. 

Other precautions

The new table on set came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public officials urge Americans to practice social distancing and self-isolation amid the pandemic spread of the coronavirus. 

Beginning last week, the daytime talk show also began taping without a live in-studio audience, with all the chairs that would typically be filled with an audience going empty. 

“It’s a historic day,” Goldberg said on the first day of the change. “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.

Joy Behar’s absence

Longtime The View host Joy Behar is also taking a step back from filming the show altogether, with the 77-year-old citing her age and her daughter’s encouragement as her reason for taking a break of unspecified length.

“I’m in a higher risk group because of my age, but I’m perfectly healthy,” she announced on March 12. “I don’t look my age, but I’m actually up there. The number makes me dizzy.”

Meghan McCain’s take

McCain threw her complete support behind Behar, despite their on-camera squabbles, later remarking on Twitter how “bizarre” it is to be hosting The View without an audience.

Photo credit: Lou Rocco/ABC via Getty Images