Fans Are Wondering Why Joy Behar Is Not on 'The View'

Fans of the popular ABC talk show The View are wondering why host Joy Behar is not on the show this week. The talk show host announced her exit from the program in May 2026, and the reason is surprising.

Joy is the only original host left on The View, which premiered back in 1997 on the network. Executive producer Brian Teta and comedian Sheryl Underwood are replacing the co-host during her absence.

Joy is not on The View because she is taking a break from the show to perform her play, My First Ex-Husband, in London. The host announced that she would be away from the show beginning on June 1, and she addressed the media about calling her break "a hiatus" during a recent episode.

"There's been a lot of media attention on me lately because I'm taking off the next two weeks," she said, per Entertainment Weekly. "They're calling it a hiatus. It's not a hiatus. I'm working. I have a planned trip overseas next week to work on my play, My First Ex-Husband, in London."

The playwright previously promoted her play when it was being performed in both Boston and West Hampton Beach, New York, during an episode of The View and shared the clip on Instagram.

"If you’re firming up your summer plans, may I recommend coming out to see my show, ‘My First Ex-Husband,’" she wrote. "Get tickets now at myfirstexhusband.com for performances at West Hampton Beach Performance Arts Center in West Hampton Beach, New York and The Huntington Theater in Boston!"

No, Joy is not leaving The View. The comedian is just taking a break to perform her play in Europe, and in addition to sharing the news on the show, the talk show host also shared the news on the podcast Behind the Table on May 29, 2026. Joy added that she was spending a week in Paris before heading off to London, per People.

"I fly to Paris this week, and then I go take the Chunnel to London after a week, and I'll be in London a second week doing my play, My First Ex-Husband, at the Boulevard Theatre in the West End,” she said. “We have Jackie Hoffman and I playing the two American women talking, then we have two British actresses. Doesn't that sound like fun?”

Brian Teta and Sheryl Underwood will fill in for Joy while she's in London, as well as co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Ana Navarro.

The co-host also missed several episodes of the show back in 2025 after she broke her toe in an uncommon way.

"Here's what happened," she said on The View. "I dropped my iPad on my foot, and I broke my toe."

Joy left The View back in 2013 for two years, but the comedian has been a fixture on the show ever since her return.