Is Joy Behar Leaving 'The View'? The Reason Behind The ABC Co-Host's Upcoming Absence

Fans of ABC's "The View" will soon be missing one of their favorite co-hosts, Joy Behar, as she is gearing up to take an unexpected leave of absence.

On Thursday, Behar made the announcement that she will be temporarily vacating her position on the daytime talk show, which she co-hosts with Whoopi Goldberg, Meghan McCain, and Sunny Hostin, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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After revealing that her age played a big part in her decision, the 77-year-old comedian then elaborated on her choice.

"I'm thinking, 'Maybe I should stay home and what they call socially distance myself,'" she said, adding that her daughter had also discussed the idea with her prior to her making it public.

"So, I decided that I think I'm going to stay home for a while. I'm going to socially distance myself a little bit, so, next week you won't see me here," she continued, which was followed by support from her co-hosts.

McCain spoke out about the announcement following the episode, saying that she loves Behar and "deeply" respects her decision to leave the talk show for a bit.

This development follows other changes that have been made in recent weeks regarding the daily operations of several TV shows. Not only has the new novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, forced "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" to go without an audience, but other shows have also followed suit, including "Dr. Phil."

Additionally, the ongoing pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of some festivals. However, one recently announced its 2020 lineup.

Aside from the aforementioned changes, the new coronavirus has also weaved into pop culture in a variety of ways in recent weeks, including sparking rumors that a "Harry Potter" star had been diagnosed with the virus and inspiring a "dramatic rise" in illegal file-sharing, thanks to one specific movie.