Whoopi Goldberg, 67, MISSES season premiere of The View after testing positive for COVID for a THIRD time – but co-host Joy Behar insists she’s ‘on the mend’ and at ‘the tail end’ of her illness

Whoopi Goldberg was forced to miss the season 27 premiere of The View on Tuesday after being struck by COVID for a third time.

When the ABC show returned to air after a four-week summer break, Joy Behar filled in as moderator, while 67-year-old Whoopi was noticeably absent as she had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Joy, 80, was joined by Ana Navarro, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin as she opened the show sitting at a brand new desk looking as glamorous as ever.

“As you can see Whoopi isn’t here, she has Covid,” Joy announced as the live studio audience responded, prompting her to add, “Yeah. It’s back, it’s back.’

Joy continued, “But she’s on the mend, she’s on the tail end. Sorry to those who were looking forward to seeing her.’

Joy Behar announced the news on the show on Tuesday, confirming Whoopi is “on the mend.”

Joy was joined by (L-R) Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin

Whoopi was very quiet on social media during the four-week summer break and hasn’t posted on Instagram since July 27.

The Sister Act star was also noticeably absent from an event celebrating her latest career in late August.

On Monday, August 28, Whoopi’s daughter Alex Martin and her children – Amara Skye Dean, Mason Dean and Jerzey Dean – attended the Bella Flora Celebrity Golf Tournament in Laguna Beach, California, but Whoopi was nowhere to be seen.

Her family was on hand to support the cover of her Cannabis Cactus magazine, as the magazine was a media partner of the event.

It is not certain if Whoopi was absent because she had already tested positive for COVID.

This isn’t the first time the actor has fallen ill with coronavirus, as she was forced to ax the show in early 2022 after showing symptoms between Christmas 2021 and New Year’s Eve.

Whoopi said at the time that she started feeling sick with mild symptoms after Christmas, so she took a test and ring in the new year by resting in bed, listening to audiobooks and watching the ball drop.

This is the third time Whoopi has been forced to take time off from The View due to COVID

The popular ABC show The View is back for a 27th season of debates and Hot Topics

“It was a shock because I have been triple vaccinated, I have not been anywhere, I have done nothing,” she said in a statement.

“It’s one of those things where you think, I did everything I had to do… Yeah, it doesn’t stop omicron.

“I don’t know how much more evidence people need to see that the vaccination — while it’s not necessarily preventing it from happening again, it’s not happening at the same rate as before,” she added.

Whoopi contracted COVID again in November 2022 and took another leave of absence, so this is her third time missing from the show due to the virus.

After returning to work in November 2022, she told the panel: ‘You can get a boost within an inch of your life and before you know it you’ll have Covid again. But I don’t have that now and that’s why I’m back at the table.’

She continued, “I’ll tell you, we’re used to people saying, ‘Oh (Covid) isn’t that bad (now),’ but this was a tough one.”

Viewers tuning in on Tuesday reacted to the news on Twitter, as one person wrote, “Whoopi has gotten COVID so many times. Goodness #TheView.”

Another joked, “Whoopi having Covid and missing the season 27 premiere seems like a hate crime to me #TheView.”

When she returned to work after having COVID in 2022, Whoopi said it was a ‘difficult situation’

A third fan admitted, “Wait a minute, #Whoopi has #Covid and isn’t on #TheView. I really don’t like it when Whoopi isn’t around.’

A fourth person added, “Whoopi not being here for the first episode of the season seems like a personal attack on me. #The view.’

Other fans were unimpressed with the new look of the show’s set, as one moaned, “I don’t like it.” It looks dated and not modern at all #theview.’