New York City – In a shocking announcement yesterday, ABC revealed that it had cut the pay of Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg in half in order to keep their daytime talk show, The View, afloat.
According to sources close to the network, the decision was made after executives realized that the show was hemorrhaging money and in danger of cancellation.
“We hate to do it, but we had no choice,” said ABC spokesperson, Sandy Duncan. “The View has been losing money hand over fist for years, and we couldn’t keep throwing good money after bad. So we made the difficult decision to cut Joy and Whoopi’s pay in half in order to save the show.”
Behar and Goldberg were reportedly shocked and outraged by the news and immediately demanded an explanation.
“I can’t believe they would do this to us,” said Behar. “We’re the stars of the show, we’re the reason people tune in every day. And they’re going to cut our pay in half? It’s outrageous!”
Goldberg was equally incensed and took to Twitter to express her displeasure.
“Hey @ABC, what the hell? You can’t just cut our pay in half without even telling us why. We’re the only reason anyone watches that damn show! #notfair #payuswhatwedeserve.”
The decision to cut Behar and Goldberg’s pay in half has also drawn criticism from fans of The View, who say that the network should have found other ways to save the show.
“They’re really going to cut Joy and Whoopi’s pay in half? That’s ridiculous,” said one fan. “Why not just cut the budget for those stupid cooking segments or something? I don’t tune in to watch Rachael Ray make scrambled eggs, I tune in to watch Joy and Whoopi spar with Meghan McCain.”
Despite the backlash, ABC says that it has no plans to reverse its decision, and that it hopes the move will help to save The View from cancellation.
“We know that this is a difficult situation for everyone involved, but we’re confident that we made the right decision,” said Duncan. “Joy and Whoopi are still very highly compensated for their work, and we hope that they’ll continue to be a part of The View for many years to come.”
In response, Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg announced that they would be hosting a special episode of The View titled “ABC Stole Our Money and We’re Pissed About It,” where they plan to air their grievances and possibly quit the show on live television.
