Abby Huntsman is coming back to The View as a guest co-host almost two years after she quit. The conservative personality had a short stint on the ABC talk show but is returning as a guest. Hunstman’s return comes amid her friend Meghan McCain raising claims about a toxic work environment on the show, allegations the former also made recently.
Why is Abby Huntsman coming back to ‘The View’ if the show was toxic?
Huntsman recently talked about her time on The View as she promotes her new podcast. The television personality claims she quit after two seasons when she found herself in a work environment that was not healthy.
“It was almost like [the show’s executives] wanted there to be that tension, it was part of their game which made it really hard,” Huntsman said in an interview with Daily Mail TV. “It didn’t always make people their very best self and so you’re always paranoid. It’s not a healthy or normal way for any human being to live their life.”
Huntsman said that she made executives aware of the work environment the shoe was operating in but nothing was done. One positive thing that she revealed was that “a lot of those executives have since left or been fired.”
This might be the reason the podcast host accepted the invitation of returning to the show to guest co-host. A spokesperson confirmed the latter to Daily Mail and pushed back on claims about the work environment.
“Twenty-two incredible women have had a seat on the panel and have worked in collaboration with the dedicated group of professionals on our staff,” The View spokesperson said. “Abby will always remain a part of The View family and we look forward to continuing the conversation with her when she visits next month.”
Similar claims about Abby Huntsman were raised before
Shortly after she quit The View, allegations regarding the toxic work environment were raised. Author Ramin Setoodeh wrote a book surrounding the backstage drama on the morning show. The book called “Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View” was very revelatory. An excerpt from the book was shared that exposed the real season Huntsman left the show. These claims align with what Huntsman recently said about her time on the show.
“Abby, who had spent just over a year on The View, reached her decision after multiple conversations with ABC executives about the toxicity at the root of the show,” reads the book (via Us Weekly). “When they didn’t respond to her, she told them that she’d like to move on, according to sources with knowledge of those conversations. Abby didn’t think that anyone at ABC was looking out for her.”
Meghan McCain blasts ‘The View’
Just like Huntsman, McCain recently opened up about her time on The View a few months after leaving the show. While promoting her audio memoir “Bad Republican,” McCain raised claims about the alleged toxic environment the show operates under.
“Maybe it’s because there’s no high-level oversight of the show from the network. ABC won’t lay down the law when it comes to conduct at The View,” she says in the audiobook. “We’re like the network’s crazy cousin. HR reports seem to fall on deaf ears, starting from years before I worked there. And as a result, people — both on camera and off — feel empowered to act however they like, and do whatever they want.”
McCain said that in her years at The View she was “the target of plenty of shade.” She also said she “experienced more toxic, direct, and purposeful hostility.”
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