Network executives reportedly asked the hosts of ABC’s “The View” to tone down their political content on the show ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, the parent company of the ABC network, wanted the talk show hosts to tame their political opinions and discussions. According to the Daily Beast, Iger and Almin Karamehmedovic, president of ABC News, requested that Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro pivot away from their constant criticism of Trump.
Karamehmedovic met with the hosts and the show’s executive producer, Brian Teta, to discuss the program’s content and consistent focus on politics, particularly Trump. He suggested they should expand their horizons in their discussions and move beyond just politics, the Beast reported. To prove his point, Karamehmedovic highlighted previous episodes of the show that didn’t focus on politics or Trump but still generated high ratings.
The idea reportedly did not sit well with the show’s left-wing talk show hosts.
The sextet pushed back against the recommendations, insisting that the show’s audience wants to hear their viewpoints. Navarro claimed that “The View’s” viewers agree with their commentary and align with their ideals, so it would be odd if they failed to continue to provide such insight and opinions on political issues, according to the Daily Beast.
“This is what our audience wants,” one of the hosts reportedly said. “Isn’t it gonna look kind of bad if we’re all of a sudden not talking about politics?”
The hosts eventually decided to ignore the executives’ suggestions and decided that “they were just going to keep doing their thing,” the Beast reported.
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The tension surrounding the show’s content and preference to pivot away from political conversations persisted as recently as last week, when Disney held its Upfront presentation to advertisers. Navarro reportedly spoke to Iger about his preference. The exchange was friendly, the Beast reported, stating that Navarro expressed gratitude to Iger for allowing the women to continue with their ways.
Still, according to the publication, Iger insisted the show should “tone down” its political rhetoric.