Why Some People Think Meghan McCain Was Fired From 'The View'
Is there more going on behind the scenes?
YouTube / The View Meghan McCain will be leaving ‘The View’ after four years and plenty of heated debates with her co-hosts.
The morning show’s sole conservative voice will finish out her hosting duties through July but will not return for next season.
McCain made the announcement on air, revealing that motherhood had changed her priorities and refocused her career.
Was Meghan McCain fired from ‘The View’?
While we can't say for sure as of now, McCain's announcement was certainly framed as though she made a voluntary decision to leave the show.
Speaking about her home in Washington, McCain said she was no longer willing to travel to New York, where the show is filmed.
“I just have this really wonderful life here that, ultimately, I felt like I didn’t want to leave,” she said, stating that the decision was not an easy one and was made only after much thought and careful discussion with people she trusts.
That said, given that she still had two years left in her contract, viewers of the show will likely wonder if McCain’s polarizing opinions, right-wing perspective or differences with her co-hosts contributed to her exit — and whether she may have been fired.
In the age of so-called cancel culture, McCain’s dissenting voice on the typically left-leaning show could have caused her to be removed from the panel.
Though McCain has said her exit is a personal decision, there might be more going on behind the scenes that expedited her departure.
Theory 1: McCain is leaving because she allegedly feared being fired after fighting with Joy Behar.
In January 2021, McCain was reportedly worried about her job security after an on-air spat with Joy Behar with the first week after her return from maternity leave.
While Behar was explaining why the Republican party was in trouble following the 2020 election, McCain interrupted, leading to a spat in which Behar stated, "I did not miss you."
A source claimed McCain, who had just returned from maternity leave, was no longer confident about her place on the talk show.
“The show actually broke a record during her maternity leave and now she realizes that she doesn't have the job security that she once did. All of that has her shook,” the source claimed.
In May, ABC executives reportedly held a meeting with the hosts of ‘The View’ in an attempt to quash the conflict between McCain and Behar.
ABC had allegedly received a flood of requests to fire McCain following what TMZ referred to as a "heated exchange between Meghan and Joy over anti-Semitism."
Theory 2: McCain's departure may be tied to the fact that she referred to herself as a "proud Zionist" on the show.
As antisemitism has continued to spike both in the US and worldwide over the past few months, McCain has remained an ardent supporter of both the Jewish people and Israel.
The day prior to the announcement of her departure, McCain dedicated a nearly 10-minute segment to an interview with Eve Barlow, a music journalist who has recently faced extreme trolling and death threats for speaking out against anti-Jewish racism on Twitter and Instagram.
Since at least 2019, McCain has been increasingly vocal in her support of Israel and defense of the Jewish community, describing herself as a Zionist both on ‘The View’ and in her Twitter bio.
Though McCain has taken this stance for several years, some are wondering if the her doing so given the current climate and increasing backlash against those who identify as Zionists following the most recent conflict between the government of Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority may possibly have contributed to her departure from "The View."
Several other professionals have recently lost their jobs under similar circumstances, including April Powers, a Black Jewish woman who was pressured to resign from her position as the inaugural Chief of Equity and Inclusion for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) after posting a statement condemning antisemitism that was later criticised for failing to specifically condemn Islamophobia as well.
Despite the fact that her statement did not mention Israel or the Middle East and concluding by saying, "we are compelled to invite you to join us in not looking away and in speaking out against all forms of hate, including antisemitism,” Powers apologized for the omission and resigned, with SCBWI issuing their own apology "to everyone in the Palestinian community who felt unrepresented, silenced, or marginalized."
And while no one has said directly that McCain's support for Israel and Jews played a role in her departure, Barlow posted a subtle message of support minutes after retweeting a clip of McCain's interview.
"Conclusion: the world hates women who refuse to censor themselves, but we keep showing up anyway," Barlow tweeted. "More power to all my sisters. You know who you are."
Theory 3: McCain was too contentious with her co-hosts.
Regarding the May 2021 meeting mentioned above, ABC execs reportedly also warned the co-hosts about getting too personal with their debates.
During her stint on the show, McCain has accused her co-host of supporting infanticide, traded insults with Whoppi Goldberg, and engaged in many heated debates.
Is it possible her co-hosts were pushed too far by the controversial famous daughter?
Ratings had remained steady since McCain's January return to the show.
As frustrating as the on-air arguments may be for the co-hosts in the moment, their affect on audiences doesn't seem to have been positive or negative enough to have played a role in McCain's exit.
Entertainment insider site Wrap Pro noted: "While McCain’s comments often trended on Twitter and blew up the internet (including many on these here pages), it doesn’t seem like she had much of an impact when it came to the daytime show’s viewership. But to be fair: 'The View' didn’t lose viewers either — at a time when just about every other daytime show has dropped, often by double digits."
So for the moment, all we know for sure about the reasons for McCain's exit is what Meghan herself has said.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her on Twitter for more.