‘The View’: Meghan McCain Reveals Emotional Moment Backstage After Joy Behar Jab Following Her Maternity Leave Return

Meghan McCain’s four-year stint on The View was filled with plenty of highly-publicized moments, most of them surrounding her heated back-and-forth discussions with Joy Behar. The two former co-hosts frequently became embattled at the Hot Topics table, but it was one January feud with Behar that left McCain “overcome” with emotion backstage.

Six months out from her The View exit, and as she continued to embark on new career ventures, McCain reflected on the moment in a recent interview with Variety ahead of the release of her new memoir, Bad Republican. After giving birth to daughter Liberty, McCain returned to her co-hosting position on the morning talk show in January. McCain explained that at the time, she was suffering from “postpartum anxiety” and was “really nervous” when she stepped back onto the set of the talk show, as it “felt like starting TV all over again. I felt unsteady.” It was as she was attempting to “make a joke” with Behar two days into her return to the show, telling her, “‘you missed me so much,’” that the painful jab came, with Behar responding, “I did not miss you. Zero.”

Looking back on the moment, McCain said, “if you watch the clip, her reaction is very sharp. I can’t explain what it felt like.” The former co-host said even others on the set that day appeared to be taken aback by Behar’s comment, with McCain recalling that “the sound woman looked shell-shocked at what she’d seen.” While McCain was able “to go back on-air,” and guest Dr. Sanjay Gupta “went out of his way to be nice to me,” she said she couldn’t hold back her emotions when after the show when she retreated to the privacy of her office.

“After the show, I went back to my office and I had a panic attack. I couldn’t stop crying, and I’m not always crying. I couldn’t compose myself. I threw up in the garbage can. I was so overcome,” she recalled. “This is my narrative – ‘I come back from maternity leave and no one missed me.’ I knew it was going to be everywhere. I was just so confused, because women when they have babies should be treated respectfully when they come back to work.”

McCain said that following the incident, which sparked plenty of discourse online among viewers, she “asked for an apology from our executive producer and her producer,” but they “said she wouldn’t do it. I don’t know if “I did not miss you. Zero.” they asked her.” Asked why she believes Behar may have been so mad at her, McCain said, “I don’t know. She might have hated me.” McCain also revealed that it was that incident that prompted her decision to leave The View. Behar has not responded to McCain’s comments about her remark.