Vice President Kamala Harris’s office is apparently frustrated with some Hollywood elite. It centers on the VP’s recent appearance on the popular TV show “The View.” A pair of positive COVID-19 tests caused producers to scramble. They eventually dismissed two of the co-hosts from Harris’s segment. What made it even more chaotic was that the Vice President was also forced to do her interview through a video link in a back room at the studio.
Sources who were on the scene and later spoke to CNN said that the interview was a “fiasco,” and production was in “chaos.”
CNN reported that one of the people noted that it was Harris’ office that required the hosts of the show to take a PCR test within 24 hours of the interview. The CNN source also said that a representative of the ABC talk show suggested the night before Harris’ appearance that the tests had come back negative.
“Harris and her staff didn’t learn the truth until the dramatic moment on live television when co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro were abruptly pulled from the set,” CNN reported.
The revelation of the positive tests created quite a scene. It was reported on-air that the tests came back positive and that both Hostin and Navarro would need to leave The View’s “kitchen table” where the interviews are usually held.
After a commercial break, co-host Whoopi Goldberg was forced to admit the pair had tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated “up the wazoo.” Harris was, then, forced to do her interview remotely from backstage.
Brian Teta, executive producer of “The View,” talked about the false alarm on Monday’s episode of the show. He said when he pulled Hostin and Navarro off the set that he was only thinking about keeping everyone – including Harris – safe.
Later, Ana Navarro disclosed that the PCR tests had shown a “false positive,” and Hostin declared that the repercussions for the positive test went beyond The View studios.
According to a report by National Public Radio, Hostin said her husband, a doctor, was pulled out of surgery as a precautionary measure when the news became known. She also noted that her children were taken out of school but that all in her family are safe.
Hostin and Navarro later took rapid tests and another PCR test, all of which, CNN noted, came back negative.
The team surrounding the Vice President has been testy in the past about how Harris is portrayed, especially in female-friendly media. They previously went toe to toe with Conde Nast media over a Vogue Magazine cover that garnered some mockery in social media. They are now saying that ABC was not “forthcoming” with information on the COVID-19 tests and whether the Vice President, who is also fully vaccinated, was in danger.
CNN reported, “According to a person familiar with the matter, ‘The View’ has not been forthcoming with the vice president’s office, leaving Harris’ staff ‘deeply concerned’ about what happened.”
Sources familiar with this story also indicated that ABC News President Kim Godwin, who was in attendance for the taping, was frustrated and embarrassed by the whole fiasco.
The team around the Vice President is surely frustrated by the fact that because of the confusion, Harris’ interview was not only delayed but severely limited. They are likely unhappy that the interview with the Vice President was overshadowed by a crazy incident and she was, then, forced to talk about the COVID-19 vaccine issue without preparation.
Spokespeople for ABC and “The View” declined to comment, despite multiple requests. A spokesperson for the vice president’s office also declined to provide a comment.
