‘The View’ Panel Clashes Over Maroon 5 Super Bowl Halftime Show

The View hosts are back at it again, this time arguing over the political sentiments (or lack thereof) involved in Maroon 5’s upcoming Super Bowl performance.

Many artists turned down guest slots in the halftime show due to the NFL’s ongoing clash with Colin Kaepernick as several believe NFL owners have banded together to keep the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback stuck as a free agent due to his political protests during previous national anthems.

Furthermore, many scoffed at the idea of a pop group like Maroon 5 were asked to headline the event, despite it being held in the Southern hip-hop mecca of Atlanta. This has led to loads of pressure on Maroon 5 to either back out of the high profile gig or politicize it in some way.

As is typical for these kinds of issues, The View’s panel debated and disagreed on the proper course of action.

“I’m just surprised at the response for the halftime show because I just don’t know what the alternative is, to just not have a half time show?” co-host Abby Huntsman said, adding that performers should be forced to be political. “I actually think it’s great [Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine’s] going to do this. I don’t think we should assume that just because he agreed to do the halftime show, he doesn’t care about the issues.”

Joy Behar hit back, saying, “I don’t agree with that at all. I think they should all skip halftime, skip it, protest, stand with Kaepernick, the guy took a stand, he took a knee and now he’s out of a job. Stand with Kaepernick. We’re living in a society that is racist, everybody knows it, you gotta stick together or they will never bend. Adam, go ahead, you wanna sing, go ahead and sing, I don’t approve of that. That’s me.”

Meghan McCain, the daughter of late politician John McCain, chimed in to point that it is unclear if Maroon 5 will take any sort of political stance during the show.

“In your scenario (Joy), I want to get clarity, everyone’s just kneeling during the halftime show?” McCain said. “There’s semantics of the football game, they take a break for a reason, so during that period of time what would you suggest is done if not to enjoy music of some kind? We haven’t seen the performance yet, he could address this.

“There’s a way to do it and still have it be political and make a statement. I think to knock everybody that’s involved before you see it is a little premeditated.”

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg popped in the serve as a sort of middle ground in the heated debate. She acknowledged that Maroon 5 should not have to constantly promote social change, but also hopes that they think about the actual points detractors are concerned with as they proceed.

“Everybody can’t stand for everything all the time,” Goldberg said. “I kind of feel like, there might be a different way to do it, but it wasn’t offered up. I can’t say to somebody don’t do it, I can say just don’t forget why people are saying we’d rather you didn’t, let’s not forget that and go from there.”

The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC. The Super Bowl, which will feature the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams, will air at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

Photo Credit: ABC/Heidi Gutman