Joy Behar returned to “The View” on Tuesday after nearly a month away from the ABC talk show, revealing that a backstage fall left her with a dislocated shoulder and pain she described as “worse than childbirth.”
The 84-year-old comedian, who last appeared on the show Sept. 30, received a standing ovation from the studio audience as she returned to the Hot Topics table alongside co-host Sara Haines. Her entrance was accompanied by Elton John’s “The Bitch Is Back.” “You should’ve played ‘God Save the Queen,” Behar joked.
Behar then explained the circumstances behind her extended absence, saying she suffered the injury while at the show’s studio.
“I missed you all, too, that’s why I came back today,” Behar said. “I fell bad. I mean, I went down hard in this building, and I dislocated my shoulder.”
She added that the pain was “worse than childbirth,” before telling her colleagues how much she missed being on the show.
“We’re together a lot, and so when one of us is not around, you feel it,” Whoopi Goldberg said.
Behar’s injury was first announced during the Oct. 1 broadcast, when co-host Sunny Hostin informed viewers that she had dislocated her shoulder and was recovering. Her absence ultimately stretched across several weeks, including the show’s Oct. 7 episode celebrating her 84th birthday.
Earlier this month, Goldberg shared a statement from Behar addressing her recovery. “If I was still 21, I’d have bounced back the next day,” Behar said in the message. “But, since I’m an old bat, recuperating takes a bit longer.”
Behar has been a fixture of “The View” since its debut in 1997, when she joined the original panel assembled by Barbara Walters. She departed the show in 2013 before returning in 2015 and has since become its longest-serving co-host. Earlier this season, the program recognized her as the longest-running female host of an American television talk show, having appeared in 28 of its 30 seasons.
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