“Defeated” Meghan McCain Reportedly Considering Leaving ‘The View’: She’s “Feeling Like a Caged Animal”

Could it be the end of an era at The View? According to a new report from The Daily Beast‘s Lloyd Grove, conservative firebrand Meghan McCain is considering leaving the ABC daytime talk show for good after two seasons of fiery debate. Multiple sources close to the co-host told The Daily Beast that McCain is tired of “feeling like a caged animal,” particularly as frequent negative publicity continues to leave her feeling “exhausted and defeated.” Said one friend of McCain’s, “It’s getting to the point where it’s not worth the emotional toll every week.”

According to The Daily Beast, McCain is “seriously considering” leaving The View when this season ends, in August. ABC is reportedly paying her close to $1,000,000 per year on the daytime show, but the constant drama has made McCain hesitant to accept their offer to return for Season 23.

Grove spoke with multiple sources close to McCain who said that she is tired of the endless fights, leaks about her backstage behavior, and media scrutiny that come with hosting The View. One source described McCain as “feeling like a caged animal,” while another said that she’s spent much of Season 22 feeling “so exhausted and defeated.” Another friend told The Daily Beast that the on- and off-camera discord is “getting to the point where it’s not worth the emotional toll every week.” They continued, “If she doesn’t stay at The View, she will find other work.”

While McCain declined to comment on The Daily Beast’s story, The View‘s senior executive producer, Hillary Estey McLoughlin, attempted to put out the fire. “We don’t want people to attack Meghan. We’re happy to have Meghan there,” she said. “I think she does want to be there. I think she wants to be on the show. She realizes it’s a very good platform for her and we love having her there. I feel like she will come back.”

But that being said, McLoughlin understands why McCain continues to make news. “What happens with Meghan is that because she’s so passionate about what she’s talking about,” she said, “and she feels very strongly that she’s carrying this mantle for the conservative perspective, and what she wants to talk about is so important to her, I think that’s the part that’s the most draining for her.”

Perhaps the strongest force pushing McCain away from The View Season 23 is the series of leaks portraying her as a difficult, “petulant child,” many of which have appeared in the Daily Mail. McCain’s camp has reportedly been speculating about where the leaks are originating; two possible sources (according to them) are makeup artist Karen Dupiche — who “liked” a viral video mocking McCain on Twitter — and fellow co-host Sunny Hostin. A friend of McCain’s told The Daily Beast that Hostin once approached them to “[talk] shit about Meghan”: she reportedly said that McCain is “condescending and grieving about her father” and “can’t handle the pressure.”

Hostin’s personal publicist attempted to squash speculation that The View co-host is involved in the leaks. “Sunny and Meghan are colleagues. Sunny says what she needs to say on The View and refuses to take part in gossip,” she told Grove. “She declines the invitation to be dragged into the mud. As a former Federal prosecutor and an Emmy-winning journalist, it’s beneath her.”

As for Abby Huntsman, McCain’s counterpart on the conservative side of the panel, McCain is the “bad cop” to her “good cop.” Said Huntsman, “I love her to death.” She went on to say that while they’ve often fought, they’re still “great friends” and know how to make up. “I think you only survive in this crazy business when you have people you can trust,” Huntsman told The Daily Beast. “And I think that what is frustrating for her, on the show, is that she doesn’t have that with a lot of people there.”

Read Lloyd Grove’s entire report on Meghan McCain’s potential View departure on The Daily Beast.

Where to stream The View