The View was thrown into chaos Monday after Whoopi Goldberg revealed she had been stranded in Italy by a volcanic eruption — while two other co-hosts were also forced to miss the show.
Goldberg, 70, was noticeably absent from the Monday, July 6, episode of the hit daytime talk show. Viewers soon learned the Oscar-winning actress had a far more dramatic excuse than a delayed alarm or missed flight.
She was stuck in Sicily after Mount Etna, one of Europe’s most active volcanoes, erupted and disrupted travel across the region.
With Goldberg unable to make it back to the United States, Joy Behar was called in to lead the panel, even though she does not normally appear on Mondays.
Behar sat alongside Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sunny Hostin and actress-comedian Michelle Buteau, who was quickly promoted from scheduled guest to emergency guest host.
“Hello, everybody. So you may be asking, ‘Why am I here on a Monday?’ I asked myself the same question,” Behar joked at the start of the show.
She added, “But Brian Teta begged me to come in — on his knees, where he belongs. Why? Because we are down three cohosts today.”
Behar then turned her attention to Goldberg’s unusual travel nightmare.
“Whoopi is using the old volcano excuse,” she teased before the show played a prerecorded video from Goldberg explaining the situation.
“I am in Sicily, and Mount Etna, one of our active volcanoes here in Italy, decided to go off today,” Goldberg said.
The Color Purple star explained that she had spent most of the day desperately trying to find a way home, but nearby airports had been shut down.
“I’ve spent most of the day trying to get back,” Goldberg said. “All of the airports are closed.”
She promised viewers she would return as soon as possible before joking that her vacation disaster topped every excuse she had heard before.
“I know that we got all kinds of stories about our different vacations,” she said. “Well, I think my story just takes the cake. A volcano ate my homework!”
Goldberg was not the only View host missing from the table.
Sara Haines and Ana Navarro were also unable to appear after separate emergencies over the holiday weekend.
Navarro was stuck in Miami because of severe weather, while Haines was dealing with storm damage.
Naturally, Behar wasted no time roasting both of them.
“Ana is stuck in Miami because of weather. It’s always hot there, what’s the problem?” she joked.
Turning to Haines, Behar added, “Sara is dealing with storm damage. How many people are dealing with storm damage? Anybody in this group? No, just Sara!”
With three regular co-hosts suddenly unavailable, producers scrambled to keep the show moving and called on Buteau to help fill the empty seats.
“We want to thank our special guest who was roused out of her sleep this morning at 6 a.m. to come in and help us: the actress and comedian Michelle Buteau,” Behar announced.
Buteau had originally been booked only as a guest, but she agreed to step in as a guest host after receiving the early-morning call.
“This is not how I thought it would happen, but I’m so glad it did,” Buteau said.
She then leaned into the bizarre circumstances surrounding her promotion.
“Hi everyone, welcome to The View!” she joked. “A volcano had to go off before you guys asked me to come here. I love it!”
