The View co-host Joy Behar has returned to the ABC talk show after an extended absence due to a shoulder injury.
Behar, 84, was welcomed back to the Hot Topics table during Tuesday’s episode, escorted by cohost Sara Haines.
“I see that you played ‘The B**** Is Back.’ You should've played, ‘God Save the Queen,’” Behar joked of her entrance song after the audience applauded. “Joy, we missed you!” someone shouted from the audience to a visibly choked up Behar.
She explained that a backstage fall led to her prolonged absence, saying, “I missed you all, too, that's why I came back today. I fell bad. I mean, I went down hard in this building, and I dislocated my shoulder.”
Behar said the pain from the injury was “worse than childbirth.”
After Behar said she missed sharing the roundtable with her colleagues, co-host Whoopi Goldberg said: “We're together a lot, and so when one of us is not around, you feel it.”
Behar missed nearly every episode in October, including a celebration of her 84th birthday. To mark the occasion, Goldberg said on the October 7 episode: “Despite sharing a birthday with Vladimir Putin, she does not have the Russian plague. She's still healing up after dislocating her shoulder. What we're saying is: Get better fast so we can celebrate you back here on The View.”
Goldberg shared another update just last week, saying that Behar would continue to miss shows.
“She says, ‘Thanks to everyone who inquired about my recovery. If I was still 21, I'd have bounced back the next day,’” Goldberg said on Behar’s behalf. “‘But, since I'm an old bat, recuperating takes a bit longer. I plan to be back next week to fill everyone in on all the gory details.’”
Behar’s return comes just days after a report indicated that executives at The View were looking to fire her.
The U.S. Sun claimed staff are becoming “increasingly worried about her falling” and believe she should quit the show. They added that Behar “needs staff to guide her around backstage.” The insider continued: “It’s become a dangerous situation, and nobody wants to be responsible if something happens.
It is also claimed executives would prefer Behar to step away from The View on her own terms before she suffers another injury.
However, a representative for The View told Entertainment Weekly that “there is no truth” to the report.
The Independent has contacted Behar’s representative and ABC for comment.
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