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The View just ignited a significant blast from the past, as OG panelist Star Jones returned to the Hot Topics table to co-host the talk show in the absence of fellow original cast member Joy Behar.
Filling in for Behar — who was also absent from Tuesday’s episode — Jones walked out with current cohosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin to kick off Wednesday’s live show with Goldberg giving Jones a fitting introduction honoring her past contributions to the show’s legacy.
The audience gave the lawyer and TV personality a warm welcome, with sustained applause accompanying her out to the table.
“Do not try to adjust your television set! Joy is not here today,” Goldberg said at the top of the show before the audience sighed. “I know, I know! But, look! One of the originals, one of the OGs, the fabulous Star Jones! Welcome back!”
Jones then addressed the audience to express her gratitude for returning.
“It’s nice to be back. This is some new stuff up in here. The studio looks a little different, the table looks a little different,” she said. “But, the camaraderie is the same.”
ABC/Courtesy Everett
Wednesday’s episode marked Jones’ first guest co-hosting gig on The View in almost exactly three years, as she last sat alongside the panel as an episode-long co-host on Feb. 4, 2022. She last appeared as an interview guest on the Jan. 3, 2023 episode commemorating the death of creator Barbara Walters, who died in December 2022 after launching The View in 1997.
Behar and Jones, who first left the show in 2006, both fronted the show’s inaugural cast alongside Walters, Meredith Vieira, and Debbie Matenopoulos.
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Jones’ first run on the show ended in controversy. The show reportedly didn’t opt to renew Jones’ contract for the following season, and Jones had allegedly agreed to announce her departure on the air in June 2006. However, she reportedly shocked Walters and show staff by making the announcement on her own terms two days earlier than originally planned.
“After much prayer and counsel, I feel like this is the right time to tell you,” Jones said on the air at the time. “I will not be returning as cohost next year.”
The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on ABC.
