Joy Behar has lost her bragging rights about her immunity and “special blood type” after contracting COVID-19 for the first time since the pandemic began.
Whoopi Goldberg, 68, revealed live on The View on Tuesday that Behar, 81, will be away for the rest of the week following her positive test result.
'Joy comes out this week. You know why? She finally got COVID,” she told the studio audience, who groaned in response. “Three years, four years later, it finally got to her.”
Behar's co-stars couldn't help but joke about how she could no longer boast about her immune system after dodging the virus for nearly four years.
Joy Behar, 81, was absent from The View on Tuesday after contracting COVID-19 for the first time since the pandemic began
Whoopi Goldberg, 68, announced during the talk show that Behar will be absent for the rest of the week following her positive test result
“She can stop bragging now,” said Sara Haines, 46.
“About her special blood type,” 55-year-old Sunny Hostin chimed in.
“That's right,” Goldberg agreed, before announcing that the “fantastic, wonderful Yvette Nicole Brown” would replace Behar in her absence.
Brown, 52, revealed during the show's “Hot Topics” segment that her boyfriend, Anthony “Tony” Davis, proposed to her.
“I heard The View is the place to announce this stuff. I'm engaged,” she said, holding up her left hand to show off her ring.
'He is here!' she added, pointing to her fiancé in the audience. “That's Tony.”
Brown said she and David were old friends before they fell in love.
'We've known each other since we were 20. Years ago we were in an acting class together at church,” she explained. “He's a great actor, by the way, Anthony Davis, y'all.
Behar's co-stars couldn't resist joking about how she could no longer boast her immune system after dodging the virus for nearly four years
'She can stop bragging now,' Sara Haines, 46, said of the comedian who finally got COVID
Sunny Hostin, 55, added that Behar attributed her immunity to her 'special blood type'
'He was married at the time and we were platonic friends, but then we lost touch for a few years. Then my mother passed away two years ago and he found me. After he got divorced! Divorce first,” she added.
When Alyssa asked Farah Griffin how Davis proposed, Brown said he popped the question while they were visiting her hometown.
'At my old secondary school an auditorium was named after me. We celebrated that and then we were at a party and he gave me a scratcher and on the scratching post it said: 'Will you marry me?' she explained. 'I thought I was going to win some money and I won a man!'.
It is unclear how long Behar will be absent from The View.
The host usually leaves on Mondays and was last seen on the show on Friday, December 10.
Behar has navigated the COVID-19 pandemic with an abundance of caution, taking a break from The View in mid-March 2020, just days before states began implementing shutdowns.
Yvette Nicole Brown, 52, filled in for Behar when she announced live on air that her boyfriend, Anthony “Tony” Davis, had proposed to her
'He is here!' Brown added, pointing to her fiancé in the audience. “That's Tony.”
Behar typically leaves on Mondays and was last seen on the show on Friday, December 10 (pictured with actress Cynthia Nixon)
It's unclear when Behar (pictured leaving The View on December 5) will return to the show
“Because of my age I belong to a higher risk group, but I am completely healthy,” said the panelist, who was 77 at the time. 'I don't look as old as I am, but I'm actually standing there. The song makes me dizzy.'
In July 2022, Behar fell ill with a virus and missed a few days of the show, but she insisted she didn't have COVID.
“I'm here to remind everyone that there are diseases besides COVID,” she said after returning to work.
'I had a virus, that's what it was, a very strong virus. I tested negative in five PCR tests. I didn't have it. I've still never had it, but now I'm a little worried about getting it.'
Behar credited her husband, Steve Janowitz, and her dog with caring for her.
'My husband was very good. He took care of me,” she said. “And my dog never left my side while I was in bed. I haven't eaten for four days. I was sick and couldn't get out of bed.'
Many of The View's hosts have been sick with COVID-19 over the years, including Goldberg and Griffin.
Goldberg missed the premiere of the show's 27th season in September after coming down with the virus for the third time.