Disney filed a petition for declaratory ruling last week, alleging that the FCC’s actions “threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech” with regard to “The View.”

The View cohosts silent on FCC drama in first live episode since Disney legal filing

Disney filed a petition for declaratory ruling last week, alleging that the FCC's actions "threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech" with regard to "The View."

Joey Nolfi

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May 11, 2026 1:19 p.m. ET

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'The View' hosts. Credit:

Jeff Lipsky/ABC

- *The View* cohosts did not address the show's ongoing drama with the FCC.

- ABC parent company Disney filed last week a petition for declaratory ruling.

- The filing alleged, among other things, that the FCC's actions "threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice."

*The View* and its panel of cohosts did not address the show's ongoing legal drama revolving around ABC network parent company, Disney, and the Federal Communications Commission.

After Disney filed a petition on Thursday for declaratory ruling against the FCC, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin remained silent on the issue on Monday's episode — the first live show since Disney filed the court document (Friday's *View* episodes and subsequent *Weekend View* editions are pre-taped).

In the petition for declaratory ruling, legal representatives for Disney argued that the FCC's alleged actions against *The View *"threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech, both with respect to *The View* and more broadly."

Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar for 'The View'.

ABC/JEFF LIPSKY (2)

The government — including representatives for the White House and FCC chair Brendan Carr — have long criticized *The View* in a series of public statements. Carr confirmed in February that the FCC would be "taking a look at" the show ahead of "an enforcement action underway," while holding an open meeting in which he alleged that the show violated a long-standing "equal time" rule after it aired an interview with Texas senate candidate James Talarico.

Talk shows have long been granted exceptions to the rule, which usually mandates that broadcasters provide equal time on the air to all candidates seeking the same office in a given election race.

In the document, ABC attorneys expressed that, while personal distaste for *The View *is permissible, they pushed back against the idea of enlisting formal regulatory groups like the FCC to legally control speech expressed on the program.**

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"Some may dislike certain — or even most — of the viewpoints expressed on *The View* or similar shows. Such dislike, however, cannot justify using regulatory processes to restrict those views," said the filing. "The danger is that the government will simply decide which perspectives to regulate and which to leave undisturbed."

** has reached out to representatives for the FCC and ABC for comment.

On *The View*'s Monday morning edition, Goldberg kicked off the episode by congratulating the New York Knicks on its series sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers, before Hot Topics discussions centered on what she called a "seismic shift in voting rights" amid redistricting disputes, as well as the cohosts criticizing a pastor who erected a golden statue of Donald Trump.

Sunny Hostin for 'The View'.

ABC/JEFF LIPSKY

The episode also saw *Proof* stage stars Ayo Edebiri and Kara Young join the cohosts for an interview, which also touched on Young's upcoming performance in *The Whoopi Monologues*, a new version of Goldberg's solo Broadway show.

After a merchandising segment, the show ended with Goldberg urging Americans not to fret during turbulent political times — as she usually ends the show.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter***.

"Don't forget, we are in this together, we'll get through it together, and we'll get to where we need to get to," Goldberg said at the end of the episode. "We'll see you tomorrow."

*The View* airs weekdays on ABC.

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