Days after the show was thrown into absolute chaos when hosts Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin supposedly tested positive for COVID-19 just minutes before Vice President Kamala Harris was set to appear, The View addressed the “awkward” false alarm and described—at times through tears—how the headline-generating ordeal even impacted their families.
During the middle of Friday’s live taping of the show, Navarro and Hostin were both rushed off the set by producers just ahead of a much-hyped, in-studio chat with the vice president. Co-host Joy Behar eventually informed the audience that her colleagues had tested positive for COVID despite both being vaccinated.
Amid the on-air scramble, the show’s producer Brian Teta informed the two remaining hosts, Behar and Sara Haines, that they would interview Harris “remotely” out of an abundance of caution. And with just 10 minutes left in the show, they were able to finally patch in Harris for a notably brief interview.
ADVERTISEMENT
After Friday’s show, meanwhile, both Navarro and Hostin were re-tested multiple times and came up negative, suggesting the initial tests were false positives. On Sunday, it was reported that both hosts were cleared to return to the set on Monday and there would be no need for quarantine.
After the hosts came out to raucous cheers from the crowd, Teta offered up his personal apologies to Hostin and Navarro for the situation they were placed in.
“We found out moments before we came back on the air, and in that moment, all I could think of was that we had to keep the hosts safe and we had to keep the vice president safe,” he said. “She could not walk out no matter what.”
Teta added, “That led to some really awkward television that I’d like to have back if I could, but I really want to acknowledge and apologize to Sunny and Ana because, in this midst of all this chaos, they were put in this position where they had this information put out on television, and then to make it even worse, it turned out to not be true later on… It was unfortunate that mistakes were made.”
Tearing up, Hostin then explained how the chaotic situation—which occurred on live television—suddenly impacted her family, noting that she was immediately concerned that she had infected her kids and husband.
“There were real-life ramifications when things like that happen. My husband is a surgeon, he was in the operating room and had to be pulled out of the operating room, because god forbid he’s operating on someone and he’s COVID positive,” Hostin stated. “My child’s school had to be notified, and she had to be pulled out. My parents had to be rushed to be tested and my son was notified at school as well.”
Calling the experience “triggering,” Hostin choked up as she recalled how she recently delivered the eulogy for her in-laws, who both died from the coronavirus.
At the same time, while pointing out that she had received “an incredible outpouring of love and support from so many people” on social media, Hostin also said that she had received threatening personal messages following Friday’s broadcast.
“While I got a lot of love and support, and there’s so much good in this world, some of the hatred that I got online, and some of the folks that somehow got my phone number, and said some things to me, when you meet your maker you’ll have to figure that out,” an emotional Hostin declared.
Navarro, for her part, took the opportunity to fire back at Donald Trump Jr., who used last week’s chaos to take a personal potshot at the View co-host’s weight, trollishly posting that it was “time to have a national conversation about dangers of COVID and obesity.”
“I know that when you are a dimwit with no skill or talent or significant accomplishments living off your father's fame and name and fortune, you've got to draw attention to yourself,” she seethed before bringing up ex-president Donald Trump’s own bout with COVID-19.
“But, baby, if you want to have a conversation about COVID and obesity, you could have had it last October when your elderly obese father had it,” Navarro exclaimed. “It's a legitimate conversation to have and fortunately for you, you have someone in your family to call and discuss it with. Because imagine having a father whose butt is the size of a studio apartment in New Jersey!”
