The show broadcast without a live studio audience amid a major New York City storm.

The View makes major changes to broadcast as Whoopi Goldberg’s chair sits empty at Hot Topics table

The show broadcast without a live studio audience amid a major New York City storm.

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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February 23, 2026 11:34 a.m. ET

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Whoopi Goldberg absent from 'The View' studio amid NYC blizzard. Credit:

Whoopi Goldberg's chair sat empty throughout *The View*'s weathering of a disastrous New York City snowstorm.

The daily talk show made major changes to Monday's broadcast, as a historic blizzard ripped through the American northeast and blanketed the region in several inches of snow.

Despite the storm, cohosts Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, and fill-in conservative panelist Amanda Carpenter (serving as part of a revolving door of temporary replacements for Alyssa Farah Griffin, who's on maternity leave) walked out to the Hot Topics table inside the show's Manhattan studio. Goldberg, however, wasn't with them, and a split-screen setup revealed that she joined the panel virtually from home.**

Whoopi Goldberg joins 'The View' virtually amid NYC blizzard.

Still, a wide shot revealed that Goldberg's chair remained at the Hot Topics table despite her absence, breaking from how the show traditionally presents the table during a four-cohost setup. (Cohost Joy Behar regularly has Mondays off.)

"Well, hello, hello, hello and welcome to *The View, *y'all! I'm coming to you remotely because of this crazy historic blizzard slamming the east coast has snowed me in," the 70-year-old EGOT-winning *Ghost* and *Sister Act* star said, adding that "we even told the audience to stay home. Look at it out there! It's a little nutty!"

The show then played footage of New York City streets covered in snow, while empty audience seats lined the show's studio.

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* *has learned that the empty chair at the table was a stylistic choice for the reveal that Goldberg wasn't with her cohosts in the studio. The chair was removed for later segments, including an interview with Dr. Jennifer Ashton.******

EW has reached out to a representative for *The View* for additional comment.

Monday's moment marked the second time the show has gone without a live studio audience in the span of a month.

The show's Jan. 26 broadcast also unfolded without live attendees, due to a state of emergency in the city amid another snowstorm.

Whoopi Goldberg on 'The View'.

"I have to tell you, we hope that everyone watching is safe from the storm that walloped a lot of the country this weekend," Goldberg said of the earlier instance. "So, we actually have no audience today."

*The View* famously broadcasted in chaotic split-screen format throughout the COVID pandemic, with many of the panelists joining the show from home throughout the duration of the outbreak.

*The View* airs weekdays on ABC.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Talk”