On Wednesday’s (May 14) new episode of The View, the panelist lineup looked a bit different than it usually does this time of the week. Whoopi Goldberg, who is usually present and moderating on Wednesday episodes, was unexpectedly absent from the lineup, so Joy Behar took the lead with Ana Navarro coming along early to join ranks with Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin.

Behar announced the reason for Goldberg’s absence at the top of the hour.

“Whoopi’s got some kind of little bug,” she explained, clarifying, “Not Covid, though, not Covid. She was wearing a mask yesterday. She wasn’t feeling well, but she’s coming back tomorrow — supposedly, if she feels better.”

Goldberg was previously present for the live shows on Monday and Tuesday, in which she engaged in the cohost’s spirited discussions of Donald Trump‘s very controversial $400 million plane gift from the royal family in Qatar and his speech about the “fat drug shot” and his businessman friend who gets them cheaper in the U.K. than in the U.S. She did noticeably fend off a cough during some of her discussions during those hours.

Goldberg is the longest-running (consecutively, at least) cohost currently on the show, so her absences, whether planned or not, tend to make headlines. She previously missed the show in March so she could fly to Italy for a fashion house commitment she made, and she was also out with the flu back in February. Behar’s mention of Covid-19 probably came as a result of the fact that last summer, in July 2024, Goldberg had to call out due to a positive Covid diagnosis after being present for other shows earlier that week. At the time, the cohosts called the spread of the infection a “summer surge.”

We’ll have to wait and see whether Goldberg is able to return to work on Thursday’s show, or if she’ll be out for the rest of the week (since she’s usually not on the lineup on Fridays, barring very special circumstances).

The View, weekdays, 11 a.m. ET, ABC