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Abby Huntsman Had ‘Multiple Conversations’ About ‘Toxicity’ at ‘The View’ Before Quitting (Exclusive)

A look behind the scenes! When Abby Huntsman told Whoopi Goldberg that she was leaving The View in January 2020 after a year and a half on the show, the moderator of the ABC talk show didn’t hold back.

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“This is the best decision you’ll make in your career,” Goldberg, 64, told Huntsman, 33, according to an excerpt exclusively obtained by Us Weekly from the paperback edition of Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View by Ramin Setoodeh. A source, however, claims to Us that Goldberg never told Huntsman that.

Abby Huntsman Quit The View After Multiple Conversations About Toxicity
Abby Huntsman on ‘The View.’ ABC/Paula Lobo

The conservative commentator announced on the show that she was leaving to join her father, Jon Huntsman Jr.‘s, campaign for governor of Utah. However, that wasn’t the only reason, according to Ladies Who Punch.

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“Abby, who had spent just over a year on The View, reached her decision after multiple conversations with ABC executives about the toxicity at the root of the show,” an excerpt from the book says. “When they didn’t respond to her, she told them that she’d like to move on, according to sources with knowledge of those conversations. Abby didn’t think that anyone at ABC was looking out for her.”

One of Huntsman’s frustrations stemmed from the show’s lack of management.

“In interviews with more than ten current and former staff on the show, they confirmed the portrait of a talk show hobbled by constant dysfunction,” according to Ladies Who Punch. “They described a work environment where three executive producers play a game of hot potato, not dealing with resentments or festering tensions among the cohosts or staff.”

Ladies Who Punch by Ramin Setoodeh
Ladies Who Punch by Ramin Setoodeh.

One high-ranking staff member is quoted in the book: “There’s no leadership and no management. Whenever there’s a problem, nobody communicates.”

Another person close to the show compared ABC’s management style to “the way Bravo tries to stoke the rivalries between its Real Housewives stars, to make for more explosive moments on TV. ”

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The View is currently being filmed remotely, as the cohosts Goldberg, Joy Behar, Meghan McCain and Sunny Hostin are working from home due to the pandemic.

The paperback edition of Ladies Who Punch, which was published last year and made the New York Times best-sellers list, will be available this week.

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