I knew I’d be witnessing history when I was asked to attend a live taping ofKamala Harris' first in-studio talk show appearance as Vice President on ABC’sThe View. And while I saw history being made on Friday morning at ABC Studios, it wasn’t for that reason.
That is… until it wasn’t.
The View
The show kicked off withJoy Beharannouncing thatWhoopi Goldberghad to unfortunately sit out from interviewing Harris because she was still struggling with sciatica, nerve pain from an injury or irritation to the sciatic nerve. From there, Behar, co-hostsSunny HostinandSara Hainesand guest co-hostAna Navarrolaunched into the Hot Topics segment, with Harris expected to appear after the first commercial break.
For more on Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro being asked to leaveThe Viewset after testing positive for COVID-19 and other top stories, listen below toour daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
Things took a turn from there.
I could sense some mild commotion on set shortly beforeThe Viewwas to return from break, with Navarro and Hostin, 52, both walking off set as cameras were about to roll. Behar and Haines didn’t seem alarmed, so I thought nothing was wrong. But as they were attempting to exit the stage, Hostin and Navarro were suddenly escorted back to the table. Both women looked confused as they returned to their seats. Behar repeatedly asked the producers what was going on.
And then they were live.
“There seems to be something happening here that I’m not 100 percent aware of,” Behar said as the show resumed. “Can someone please apprise me of the situation?”
Sunny Hostin (left), Ana Navarro on Friday’s show.The View
But first, Behar had to address the elephant in the room for the viewers at home.
“Since this is going to be a major news story any minute now, what happened is that Sunny and Ana apparently tested positive for COVID,” she told cameras. “No matter how hard we try, these things happen. They probably had a breakthrough case and they’ll be okay, I’m sure, because they’re both vaccinated.”
From there, they took audience questions until they cut to the next break. During the break, everyone in the crowd was buzzing about what they had just witnessed. The woman next to me shared that she was getting married in two weeks and was now concerned for her health given what had occurred.
It was still unclear if Harris was going to appear on the show at all, so I took the opportunity to ask Behar and Haines a question related to the chaotic day: “Hi, I’d like to know what’s going through your heads in light of what just happened?”
The View (2)
“What the heck is going on?” Haines replied to big laughs, while Behar said: “We got an adrenaline rush because we know that we have to think on our feet. I have many years of experience thinking on my feet. I was a standup comedian for many years.”
It was then time for the next commercial break, during which we learned that Harris would be appearing virtually from another room in ABC Studios — and thenThe Viewwas back to business as usual!
Harris' appearance ended up being a brief 10 minutes, with Harris sending her well wishes to Hostin and Navarro, praising both as “strong women.”
WhenThe Viewwent off the air, both Behar and Haines exhaled a loud sigh of relief, with Behar exclaiming, “Woah,” loud enough for the audience to respond with applause and awkward laughter.
A producer came on set to inform everyone that rapid COVID-19 tests had just come back negative for Hostin and Navarro. It wasn’t long until the audience was escorted out of the building.
As I walked out into the daylight still processing what had just transpired, reporters stationed outside asked some audience members about the wild turn of events.
I headed straight to the nearest COVID-19 testing facility.
source: people.com
