TLDR
Joy Behar is missing from the “Hot Topics” table for two weeks, but the veteran co-host is not sidelined. She is in Paris and London, working on her play “My First Ex-Husband.”
Viewers tuning in to “The View” saw an empty chair where Joy Behar usually fires off punch lines and politics. The June 1 episode began a rare, two-week stretch without the show’s longest-running provocateur, and the timing instantly sparked curiosity.
Behar addressed the chatter herself before she left. On a recent episode of “The View,” she told the audience, “There’s been a lot of media attention on me lately because I’m taking off the next two weeks. They’re calling it a hiatus. It’s not a hiatus.” She made the distinction clear, adding, “I’m working.”
The work is personal. Behar explained that she has “a planned trip overseas” to focus on her play “My First Ex-Husband” in London. The project, a comedic look at marriage and divorce, debuted Off-Broadway in New York in February 2025. Now, the material is heading to London’s West End, a prestigious stage for any writer, let alone a daytime TV star.
She had already given fans a preview on “Behind the Table,” the show’s companion podcast. Speaking with “The View” executive producer Brian Teta, Behar laid out the itinerary: “I fly to Paris this week, and then I go take the tunnel to London after a week.” In London, she said, she will be putting on “My First Ex-Husband” with a cast that includes Jackie Hoffman and two British actors.
Paris will not be a vacation either, at least not entirely. Behar described plans to write “in various cafes” and to wander through art exhibits, including one dedicated to Matisse. The 83-year-old sounded delighted by the mix of work and inspiration, asking on air, “Doesn’t that sound like fun,” as she talked about her upcoming days in the City of Love.
Back at “The View,” Teta assured listeners that the table will stay lively in her absence. He revealed that “various folks” will fill in, including Sheryl Underwood, fresh from the Kevin Hart roast special, and journalist Kara Swisher, whom he called “very funny and smart.” He also joked that Whoopi Goldberg would be anchoring Fridays, quipping, “I don’t think she knows that. I’ll let her know.”
Behar’s seat carries history. She has been part of “The View” since its 1997 launch, with only a two-season break, and her sudden absences tend to rattle the show’s loyal audience. In November 2025, a two-episode disappearance prompted concern until Goldberg explained on air that Behar had “hurt her foot.”
This time, the absence is deliberate and carefully framed. By spelling out her travel and her creative agenda on both the show and its podcast, Behar signals that this is a career expansion, not an exit or a crisis. The message is simple. Her chair is temporarily empty so that her play can find a new life on a bigger stage.
For a co-host who built her persona on candor and comic timing, the trip reads as the next act. When Behar walks back to the “Hot Topics” table, she will return not just as a daytime fixture, but as a playwright testing her voice in London.
Do you prefer Joy Behar sparring at the “Hot Topics” table, or are you excited to see her pour that sharp storytelling into “My First Ex-Husband” on stage? Share how her temporary exit changes your morning routine and whether you plan to follow her work to the theater.
