Goldberg whispered, “There he is,” spotting the insect while Haines spoke, and later clapped it to death after it hovered in the studio.
The View‘s Hot Topics table claimed its first casualty of the season when Whoopi Goldberg spotted a gnat, tracked it, and clapped it to death live on the air.
The invasive bug — which was, in fact, in danger, girl — hovered through The View airspace while cohost Sara Haines spoke about election interference and Donald Trump denying the 2020 election results. Its spot at the table was short-lived, however, as Goldberg fronted the Whoopi Goldberg War Room once again and became laser-focused on the insect, as shown in a wide shot of her and Haines at the table.
In the clip above, Goldberg whispers, “There he is,” setting her sights on the lil guy. When the camera zooms in on Haines, the gnat can be seen buzzing around above her head (as evidenced in Entertainment Weekly‘s extremely serious investigative photos below) before Goldberg launches her military action and claps her hands while Haines speaks.
ABC
After it happened, Haines looked to her right and broke from her point, as Goldberg checked her hands.
“There’s a little… have you seen it?” Goldberg asked after the audience laughed at her operation.
Goldberg’s ally, Sunny Hostin, then confirmed that she, too, offered assistance during the multi-pronged defensive maneuver. “I tried to get him,” she said. “I couldn’t get him.”
ABC
Haines then continued to speak as if nothing had happened.
Believe it or not, Thursday’s perished gnat is not the first flying invader to terrorize The View in 2024. While it might have been the first pest zipping above the ladies in the new season, its cohorts zoomed too close to Ana Navarro at the Hot Topics table in June — back when the show was still broadcasting from its old studio home before moving to a new set in September.
ABC
Navarro lamented the winged creature as it joined the daytime talk show while she spoke about the Supreme Court. After it landed on her mug, she trailed off and looked down at the miniature menace.
“Oh my God, there’s a giant fly. Mike Pence’s fly is smack on my cup,” Navarro said, referencing the iconic insect that perched atop Vice President Pence’s head during the 2020 debates. Navarro then estimated that “it looked like a Chihuahua” before the show moved on.
The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on ABC. Watch Goldberg kill a gnat live on the air in the video above.