Whoopi Goldberg Explains Why ‘The View’ Is On Amid Actor’s Strike

Fran Drescher President of the SAG-AFTRA seen after announcing to forge ahead in the strike after holding firm to negotiations. 13 Jul 2023 Pictured: Fran Drescher. Photo credit: APEX / MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA1007045_012.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency] — Image Credit: ABC

Whoopi Goldberg broke down why she and the other ladies of The View would continue to be on the air, despite the historic strikes for both the actors’ and writers’ unions (SAG-AFTRA and WGA, respectively), at the top of the show on Monday, July 17. The Oscar-winner, 67, revealed that since she and the co-hosts aren’t “acting” while they appear on the show, they’re allowed to continue working amid the strikes.

When the women came out to the table, Whoopi kicked off the show by explaining how certain types of programming are allowed to keep filming without crossing the picket line. “We want to start with an explanation of why we’re still working when there is a SAG-AFTRA strike. Like the soap operas, game shows, and news shows, we work under a different kind of contract, which is called ‘The Network Code,’ which means that we are allowed to continue on, as we’re not actors at the table, acting The View. It’s a different kind of contract,” she said. “So, that’s why we’re still able to work.”

Whoopi explained that ‘The View’ stars are under a different contract than other actors. (ABC)

While The View will continue, Whoopi explained that they still have support for both the actors and writers striking for a better contract. “We support the actors that are out on strike as we do with the Writer’s Guild. People just trying to get a balance,” she said. “We want it to all work out for everybody, because nobody wants to see folks on strike, because it’s never good when you have to make a noise to say, ‘Hey, we’re here.’ But, you do it as long as you need to do, so we’re backing everybody up.”

The View has continued amid the writer’s strike, with the hosts reading handwritten notes as they continue to have their hot topics discussions. While the hosts have referenced the strike, Dermot Mulroney made a symbolic show of solidarity of the writer’s strike when he walked off the show in a pre-taped interview on June 23. After completing his interview, the My Best Friend’s wedding star said, “In support and solidarity with the writers, I’m going to walk off your show. Alright? I’ll see you in the picket lines in July.”