Whoopi Goldberg took an unexplained, week long leave of absence from the show she has moderated since 2007. Though she has been back behind the desk for two weeks, she is only now divulging why she took time off.
“I was laying in a hospital room,” the actress explained.
Goldberg revealed the brief hospitalization was due to sciatica, a bulging disc of the spine which impacts the sciatic nerve- the largest nerve in the body. Commonly, sciatica causes pain throughout the hips, legs and feet.
‘The View’: Moderator Whoopi Goldberg Explains her Absence From the Show.- ‘I Was Laying in a Hospital Room’
Goldberg joked that it was like a “bad boyfriend” who came back to “mess with me.” She said she experienced “really horrible” pain and it was “impossible” for her to move her leg.
The 64 year old further revealed she is now using a walker.
“I have a walker, which kind of freaks me out. I didn’t know that I needed it,” Goldberg said. However, she now sees the benefit and, with the assistance her walker provides, Goldberg sees the apparatus as her “new best friend”.
Though Goldberg is now back at work, there will soon be a spare seat at the table with Megan McCain leaving the show shortly.
McCain cited the commute from DC to New York , now that the show films in the studio rather that from the hosts’ individual homes, as her reason for leaving. Rumors have flown, though, that she felt mistreated by her fellow hosts for voicing her conservative views.
Co-host Sarah Haines, however, was quoted as saying McCain should be replaced by someone with a similar republican/conservative view so as different ideologies can be discussed on the show.
It has been reported that original co-host Debbie Matenopoulos is in talks to make a return to the show. Matenopoulos was 21 when she joined the show at its inception in 1997 and, now the program is in its 25th season, is excited about a probable return.
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