McCarthy claims The View pulled a bait and switch on her, hiring her to provide “fluffy and fun” pop culture commentary” before quickly getting political — something she’s only now more comfortable being thanks to “our latest administration.”
Don’t expect to see Jenny McCarthy show her face on The View ever again.
The former cohost, who joined the panel for just one season from 2013-2014, appeared on The Katie Miller Podcast this week where she — among many other topics, including her MAGA support and stance on vaccines — reflected on her short-lived stint on the morning show. As she’s said in the past, McCarthy was hired to talk more pop culture on the show, but that plan didn’t last long.
“The reason why they wanted to bring me on is because they, quote, said it was too polarizing. They thought it was too polarizing back then, you guys,” she told Miller, saying she was brought up to provide “light, fluffy, and fun” pop culture commentary.
“Well, that lasted a week. That lasted a whole week,” McCarthy continued. “And back then, I didn’t consider myself to be a political person, which is why I thought I was perfect for the job. After a week, when they said they wanted to get political, I was like, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to do?'”
“They’re like, ‘Today we’re going to be discussing the hostage situation and whether the United States government should pay the ransom or not. And I was like, ‘What?'” said the former cohost. “I’m like, ‘I just know who won Dancing with the Stars.’ So getting through that year was really difficult.”
The Masked Singer judge added that she’s “much more political” these days, saying “our latest administration has helped so much” with her confidence on speaking on such topics. “But back then? Oh, I would not, I would never even,” she said, before claiming the show has “asked me to come back for, like, reunion shows. I was like, over my dead body would I ever step foot in that place.”
Fellow former cohost Sherri Shepherd backed up McCarthy’s version of events on her talk show today, per EW.
“It’s no secret Jenny McCarthy hated being on The View. I remember the day they switched it to politics, Jenny came into my dressing room just like that. She goes, ‘Sherri, oh my God, what am I gonna do?'” she recalled on Thursday’s episode. “And I looked at her, I said, ‘What are you gonna do? What are we gonna do!'”
Shepherd added that “everything that Jenny is saying is absolutely true,” and that she “felt really bad for my friend, because they did — they brought her on the show after a lot of focus groups said they wanted less fighting about politics. They wanted it to be more chill and more fun.”
Both Shepherd and McCarthy left the show in 2014, after Barbara Walters’ exit.
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