Meghan McCain is outta there, folks.
Or, to be more specific and accurate, Meghan McCain is about to be outta there, folks.
On Thursday's brand new episode of The View, the polarizing talk show host announced that she's leaving the ABC program after four years of pissing basically everyone around her off.
"I'm here to tell all of you my wonderful co-hosts and the viewers at home that this will be my last season on The View," McCain said to open the installment.
The former Fox News correspondent, who joined The View in 2017, will finish out this season and will still be with the co-hosts until the end of July.
"This was not an easy decision," McCain said, noting she'll be living in Washington, D.C., from where she's been filming amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"It took a lot of thought and counsel and prayer and talking to my family and my close friends."
McCain, the daughter of late Senator John McCain, welcomed her first child in September.
She announced her departure alongside fellow panelists Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines... almost all of whom she's clashed with over the years as one of the show's only conservative voices.
During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in 2019, the 36-year old addressed her typically-combative stance on the show, admitting back then to feeling insecure on air.
She figured she'd get axed on a constant basis.
"I go in assuming I'm going to be fired every day," McCain said at the time. "Every single day. Yes, every day."
Not long after saying this to Cohen, reports surfaced that McCain wanted off The View.
“It’s getting to the point where it’s not worth the emotional toll every week,” reported The Daily Beast in July 2019, quoting a supposed friend of the star's and citing her never-ending beefs with colleagues:
“If she doesn’t stay at The View, she will find other work.”
It's unclear at this point just what that other work will entail for McCain.
Since returning from maternity leave in January, Meghan has gone at it almost as much as ever with her other hosts.
During one memorable on-air exchange, Joy Behar told McCain she "did not miss" her while she was away.
Days later, Meghan appeared on Watch What Happens Live to discuss the tension.
So it's been such a rough reentry back into The View," she said to Cohen.
"I had a really hard time getting back to work -- I thought I would be back to work by the election...It's just been a lot...
"I will say I missed everyone, even if some people didn't miss me.
"I miss the show. We're a family. All these women were at my dad's funeral.
"We've been through a lot of s--t together, and I miss being on the show, and I hope that we can all be examples -- myself included -- for where the country should go forward."
On Thursday, McCain referenced her daughter and said she wants to remain in D.C. She wants to raise her daughter in the nation's capitol.
She went on to praise her co-hosts, calling them "strong, brilliant, intelligent broadcasters" and "the most talented women in all of television."
She said the job itself was one of "greatest, most wonderful privileges of my life."
After noting her father pushed her to join the series despite her initial hesitations, Whoopi Goldberg responded with kindness:
"It has been quite wonderful to sit across from you, your dad was very smart."
Sara Haines also said it's been an "honor" to work with McCain, who she went on to call "tough," while Behar pointed out their "disagreements" and "fights" over the years.
However, she also brought up their "drinking moments" that were "fun and interesting."
Added Behar:
"You and I have in common, as do all of us here, we're on a show where we stick our necks out, we take the blowback, we take a lot of hits on this show and we stick by our points of view and you have done that brilliantly for four years.
"I hope you can say that I did the same thing.
"I really appreciated that you were a formidable opponent in many ways and that you've spoke your mind and you're no snowflake, missy."
In her closing statement, McCain said:
"The media needs to do a better job of covering the women on this show in general."
"As Joy pointed out, it's not a fair fight. We're covered with deep misogyny and sexism by the media.
"If 5 men were doing what we do every day, I believe we would have a Pulitzer Prize at this point and it's always reduced to really reductive coverage."
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