News Update: Finally, ABC issued an official statement confirming that Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg’s contracts will not be renewed because they are too toxic. Was it a wise choice

Joy, 80, was joined by Ana Navarro, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin as she opened the show sitting at a brand new desk and looking as glamorous as ever. As you can see, Whoopi is not here, she has Covid,’ Joy announced as the live studio audience reacted, which led her to add: ‘Yes. It’s back, it’s back.’

Joy continued: ‘But she’s on the mend, she’s on the tail end. Sorry for those who were looking forward to seeing her.Whoopi was very quiet on social media during the four-week summer break and hasn’t posted on Instagram since July 27.

The Sister Act star was also noticeably absent from an event at the end of August to mark her latest career venture.

On Monday, August 28, Whoopi’s daughter Alex Martin and her children – Amara Skye Dean, Mason Dean, and Jerzey Dean – attended the Bella Flora Celebrity Golf Tournament in Laguna Beach, California, but Whoopi was nowhere to be seen.

Her family were present to support her Cannabis Cactus magazine cover, as the magazine was a media partner of the event.

It’s unclear if Whoopi was absent because she had already tested positive for COVID.

This isn’t the first time the actor has fallen ill with coronavirus as she was forced to take time off the show in early 2022 after showing symptoms between Christmas 2021 and New Year’s Eve.

Whoopi said at the time that she’d started to feel under the weather with mild symptoms after Christmas, so she took a test and then rang in the new year by resting in bed, listening to audiobooks and watching the ball drop.