On Sept. 13, 2023, claims began to spread online that "The View" hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, and Sunny Hostin had threatened to quit if conservative political commentator Candace Owens joined the TV show.
"Whoopi, Joy, and Sunny Threaten To Resign 'Immediately' If Candace Owens Joins The Panel," a X (formerly known as Twitter) post said on Sept. 13, 2023. Attached to the post was a screenshot that showed pictures of Owens and the hosts of "The View," above a headline that said the same thing as the post.
We also found social media posts about the claim that included the screenshot on platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Reddit. The claim had been spread before — we found a viral TikTok post from July 2023:
@freegirlforever #fyp #viral #candaceowens #shewouldeatthemup ♬ Funny Laugh no no no - Sound Effect
However, the claim was a piece of satire.
We found the picture from the screenshot included in an AmericanStories website article published on Sept. 11, 2023. It said:
Whoopi, Joy, and Sunny Threaten To Resign 'Immediately' If Candace Owens Joins The Panel
"It's bad enough that we have to deal with Meghan McCain and her conservative views," said Behar, "but adding Candace Owens to the mix would be a disaster. We're not going to sit there and let her spout her hate-filled rhetoric." Goldberg echoed Behar's sentiments, saying, "I've been on this show for over a decade and I'm not going to let someone like Owens come in here and ruin what we've built. We have a responsibility to our viewers to provide a thoughtful, balanced discussion, and Owens would just disrupt that."
That article in turn was almost a word-for-word copy of another article, found on usacommunity.live blog, published on Aug. 26, 2023. One of the key differences between the two stories was that the August 2023 story (see below) included a disclaimer it was satirical (bolded emphasis ours to indicate where the two articles were the same):
Whoopi, Joy, and Sunny Threaten To Resign 'Immediately' If Candace Owens Joins The Panel
Disclaimer: The following text is a satirical piece intended for humor and entertainment. The characters, actions, and events described are entirely fictional.
In a stunning turn of events, the co-hosts of The View, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, and Sunny Hostin have all threatened to quit the show "immediately" if conservative commentator Candace Owens is added to the panel.
Sources close to the hosts say they are outraged by the mere suggestion of Owens joining the show, citing her controversial opinions and tendency to stir up controversy as reasons for their opposition. "It's bad enough that we have to deal with Meghan McCain and her conservative views," said Behar, "but adding Candace Owens to the mix would be a disaster. We're not going to sit there and let her spout her hate-filled rhetoric."
Goldberg echoed Behar's sentiments, saying, "I've been on this show for over a decade and I'm not going to let someone like Owens come in here and ruin what we've built. We have a responsibility to our viewers to provide a thoughtful, balanced discussion, and Owens would just disrupt that."
At least one other satire website also wrote about the claim before August and September 2023. In March 2023, the Dunning-Kruger Times, a satirical website we've previously covered, published an article with the same claims and headline:
Whoopi, Joy, and Sunny All Say They'll Quit "Immediately" If The View Adds Candace Owens
Candace Owens scares the women of "The View." The trio of twisted leftists that is Whoopi, Joy, and Sunny have made it clear: If the network hires her, they'll quit.
"She's a MAGA extremist who sells nonsense to numbskulls," said Whoopi, "There's no way I'll sit at a table and take her seriously."
In short, there was no evidence that Owens was joining "The View" as a host. No reputable news source reported this. If she was becoming a host of "The View," reputable news and entertainment publications would report the news, as they have before about hosts of the show.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.