The co-hosts are often at odds on the hit talk show, but behind the scenes it's a different story.
It's hard to find two bigger political opposites than Meghan McCain and Joy Behar. The 36-year-old conservative former Fox News contributor and the 78-year-old liberal longtime talk show host regularly go head-to-head while at The View's round table.
Behind the scenes, however, the co-hosts share a different story -- one of great mutual respect and genuine friendship. Behar, who has been a part of The View since its inception in 1997, has 20 years of experience on McCain, who joined the panel in 2017, but they have each shared kind sentiments about one another throughout their time together on the show.
Here's a look inside the complicated relationship between McCain and Behar:
Tense Exchanges
If a fight breaks out between two hosts on The View, chances are those two are McCain and Behar. The pair are known for dishing it out to one another on a regular basis.
In June 2019, things got heated between the two when Behar gave McCain a sarcastic "Awww," to which she replied, "Don't feel bad for me, b***h. I'm paid to do this."
While the moment felt tense, the pair immediately came back after the break, explaining that there were no hard feelings.
"I love the word b***h. Joy and I call each other b***h all the time and text each other b***h," McCain explained. "I know you’re comfortable with it. She knows I’m comfortable with it. I also enjoy fighting with you.”
“I don’t care if you call me a b***h," Behar confirmed at the time.
In February 2020, McCain shut down Behar, saying she wouldn't reveal who she was voting for in the 2020 presidential election.
"Who I vote for is none of your business, but I'm not voting for Trump and I'm sure as hell not voting for [Mike] Bloomberg," McCain told Behar after her co-host had pressed her on the subject. "It's none of your business."
Then, earlier this month, things once again got a little uncomfortable following McCain's recent return from maternity leave.
As the panel was discussing in-fighting within the Republican Party, McCain quipped to Behar, "Joy, you missed me so much when I was on maternity leave. You missed fighting with me."
Behar shot back, "I did not. I did not miss you. Zero."
McCain later spoke about the exchange on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, saying, "Even if some people didn't miss me, I missed the show. We're a family. All these women were at my dad's funeral. We've been through a lot of s**t together, and I missed being on the show and I hope that we can all be examples, myself included, for where the country should go forward, because whether we like it or not, like, I'm not going anywhere on the show, Joy's not going anywhere on the show."
Behind the Scenes
Though there are plenty of tense moments while the cameras are rolling, McCain and Behar have both said that's not the case backstage.
"Of all the people backstage, we actually get along the best," McCain insisted when talking to ET in September 2019. "Because we always want to watch news after and still talk about it."
Behar agreed, chiming in, "Yeah, it's true."
The co-hosts have been the subjects of plenty of rumors of on-set tensions, which McCain has vehemently denied.
"It really hurts my feelings!" McCain told Behar of the reports of a feud in November 2019 during their ET interview. "It genuinely hurts my feelings because our dressing rooms are next door to each other and you and I have the same emotional reaction to things -- sometimes in different ways -- but we're both upset equally, the equal amount of the same things. And I wish people would give us a break, for real."
Behar added at the time, "What we're saying, we really mean it! It's not an act, we don't sugarcoat it, we go right in it. And I think that's what we have in common. And I think that there's mutual respect for that."
In fact, McCain credited Behar for helping her to have a good performance on the show.
"I don't know what my takeaway is but when you're not here, I hate the show," McCain told her. "I really have a hard time. As everyone knows, I have a really hard time when I can't fight with you. I really enjoy it."
During a January 2020 appearance on WWHL, McCain also added, "Joy and I are oftentimes in the corner talking about things we hit and things we missed during the break. I think you can’t work on a show where the hosts don’t speak.”
Co-host and moderator Whoopi Goldberg agreed in October 2019, saying on WWHL, "No, listen, if they didn't like each other, they would not be on TV together."
Real-Life Friendship
It's not that the two just tolerate each other, they actually are friends in real life! In October 2020, McCain shared a sweet birthday post in Behar's honor to Instagram calling her "my favorite liberal sparring partner," adding, "You are a true power house and ultimate original! Grateful to call you a friend."
In October 2019, the pair dressed up as the creepy twins from The Shining for Halloween, with McCain writing on Instagram, "Depending on your persuasion - we’re either side of the political aisles nightmare evil twin!"
In the past, McCain has noted that it's their political differences that make them such a force to be reckoned with.
"If you can't handle Joy and Meghan, you shouldn't be running for office," McCain told ET.
In November 2019, McCain also got candid with Behar during an interview for ET, saying, "I really enjoy being friends with you. You're really funny, you always make me laugh on the show. I'm really, sincerely very grateful that you're on the show with me and you have all the answers. I do, I love Joy ... because neither of us put up with s**t, none of us care about being loved and both of us don't want our husbands on the show every day. We don't drag our husbands out like props. Neither of us do that."
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