After a report by Variety claimed that Joy Behar planned to retire from The View when her contract expired in the summer of 2022, a rep for the daytime show host refuted the claims of an exit in a recent statement obtained by PEOPLE.
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“This is not true. Joy was asked what happens at the end of her contract and as she herself made clear in the interview, if she’s ‘as fabulous in [2022] as I am now,’” the rep said Wednesday, April 8. “She will be in her seat at the table.”
The claim stems from an interview with Behar within Ramin Setoodeh’s book Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View.
“I have a three-year contract,” Behar said, according to Variety. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t leave if I want to, because they can’t really do anything to me at this point. I don’t see myself staying for more [time]. That’s it! I could be wrong. If I’m as fabulous in [2022] as I am now, I’ll think about. But the chances of that happening…” She paused to reflect. “You know, time marches on. I’m not a kid.”
According to the outlet, numerous sources said “that Behar has been floating a 2022 exit from the show.”
Behar joined The View when it launched in 1997, marking her the longest-running co-host in the show’s history. The co-talk show host was briefly let go of in 2014 when executives attempted to skew the show in a less-political direction. Unfortunately, when The View‘s ratings tanked after just two years, Behar was rehired.
The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.