Abby Haight Huntsman is an American journalist and a former co-host of “The View.” The television personality appeared on the show for its Flashback Friday and left the viewers speechless.
After being with the show for two years, the former co-host left early last year to help her father, Jon Huntsman Jr’s governorship campaign for Utah. However, this doesn’t explain the audience’s reaction.
For the past few weeks, Huntsman has been on many news sites to talk about the show’s “unbearable culture.” She said the reason she left was to save her mental health. With these comments in mind, her return puzzled more than a few fans. Her return, however, pleased many fans who preferred her to the other conservative on the show.
Huntsman Missed The Show
When Huntsman came on set, things got a bit awkward. The journalist greeted the co-hosts with hugs but skipped Joy Behar. Behar, feeling confused, asked Huntsman why she wasn’t included in the greeting. The 35-year-old replied that she did so because Behar wasn’t the biggest fan of hugs but ended up hugging her.
When Behar asked the journalist if she missed the show, she said, “It’s fun to be back, and I do miss so much of the show. I’ve opened up more about why I left and when it happened,” she added.
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“The problem with media today is it is so black and white. I’m a very nuanced person, as you guys know. My politics are nuanced; the way I live my life is more nuanced.”
The former host said that she felt her time on the show wasn’t as extreme as it was made out to be. The problem was from the executives and some people on the show who made her feel uncomfortable while working, but they were gone now.
Fans Want Huntsman Back On ‘The View’
When Huntsman left in 2020, many fans were shocked and disappointed because the co-host was well-liked. Several tweets were comparing her to her co-host Meghan McCain and wishing she was the conservative that stayed. So it’s no surprise that fans welcomed her appearance on the show.
After Huntsman came on “The View,” several supporters revealed that they wanted the journalist back full time. These fans expressed their views in YouTube videos and the comment section.
“Abby is a conservative, and I am definitely not, but I’d love to see her back because she expresses her opinion well, without interrupting and without raising her voice. She’d be an amazing person to take Meghan’s spot,” someone on YouTube.
“I am a democrat, but loved Abby! She was so likable, and even if I didn’t always agree with her, she had pure class. I wish she would come back,” another person added. Comments like this and many more were littered all over the internet, encouraging Huntsman to come back.
Huntsman And Behar Shaded Meghan Mccain
When she was asked if she missed the show, she mentioned how some executives and people on the show made the atmosphere tough for her, but they were gone now.
This comment could be referencing Meghan McClain, her former co-host. McCain was on “The View” for four years and was the only other conservative besides Huntsman, but she left the show in July 2021.
Behar chimed in after Huntsman’s comment and wasn’t as subtle as the journalist. She said, “Well, I miss some of them. I do. I miss some of them. I mean, I don’t miss –,” Behar said, then cut herself off and added, “The panel’s perfect now.” The audience laughed, and Huntsman said with a laugh, “I did miss you, Joy.”
Why Did Huntsman Leave ‘The View?’
Huntsman told the viewers that she was leaving the show to help her father with his governorship campaign during her last appearance.
However, the journalist recently went on her podcast “I Wish Somebody Told Me” to say why she left. The 35-year-old said she left the show because the work environment “did not reflect my values,” and she accused it of “rewarding people for bad behavior.”
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“I’m never going to write a tell-all book,” she said, then added that the “executives in charge” created an environment centered around “money and the tabloids…You would see people act in ways that were not okay; that was very much part of the toxic environment of ‘The View,’ and here we were going on the air criticizing others for toxic culture.”
She told Daily Mail TV that they tried to create tension for the people on the show, and it was an unhealthy way for anyone to live. She backed up her decision to leave and called it the “best decision” she could have made.
