While appearing on Watch What Happens Live in April of 2020, McCain was asked to discuss Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s most recent guest appearance on The View, which had happened at the beginning of that March. Andy Cohen asked McCain how she felt when Hasselbeck, who co-hosted The View from 2003-2013, said “we should pray the virus away” as conversation turned to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic. Immediately, McCain widened her eyes and nodded her head, then explained her thoughts. “Somebody actually sent me a screenshot of my face when she said that,” McCain told Cohen. “I took this virus very seriously from the very beginning, and I thought a lot of this rhetoric was really dangerous.” “I think it’s really, really unfortunate and dangerous that she said that,” the current host continued. “And I don’t need to co-host with her again…Anybody who’s screwing around with this virus, and putting out sort of misinformation, I just don’t really have a lot of time for.” For someone who made filming on another show difficult, check out Maya Rudolph Says This SNL Host Made the Cast Want to Leave. The day Hasselbeck last returned to The View was Mar. 11, 2020, which was just two days before then-President Donald Trump declared COVID-19 a national emergency. During the episode, host Whoopi Goldberg asked the panel if they were doing anything specific to stay safe since social distancing rules were starting to be enforced in more places.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “I think a lot of it has to be decided,” Hasselbeck responded. “Pray that God’s got us in our tomorrows, right. We pray that this coronavirus is extinguished.” Hasselbeck also praised Trump for his leadership during the COVID-19 outbreak, while the rest of The View hosts weren’t as positive about his response thus far. For another unpopular visitor, check out Kenan Thompson Says This SNL Guest Made the Cast “Extremely Uncomfortable.” Three days after McCain appeared on WWHL, Hasselbeck responded to her comments with a public Instagram video. In the video, she is facing the camera, but talking directly to her son Isaiah, who is not in frame. “I don’t like being misrepresented, so we’re gonna talk this out right here,” Hasselbeck says at the start of the video. “Hey, Isaiah, what do we do when we’re scared about things, bud?” Isaiah responds, “Pray.” And when Hasselbeck asks her son if they’re washing their hands and taking social distancing seriously, he says yes. In a long caption, Hasselbeck defends herself by restating that her appearance was early in the pandemic and accuses McCain (who she tags) of misquoting her. She claims that she “never said [she] had the power to pray covid away,” but that prayer has always been her first instinct during any crisis. She also seems to make a reference to a racist assumption about the virus. “We are all just doing our best, and I don’t know why you are taking an opportunity to be so aggressive toward me during such a stressful time,” she also wrote. For more celebrity and entertainment news sent right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. With Cohen, McCain also shared that before Hasselbeck’s much-discussed March 2020 visit to the show, she really enjoyed being around her. “It’s unfortunate because I’ve been a huge fan of her for a long time,” McCain said. In fact, when Hasselbeck returned to The View in March of 2019 to discuss her book, Point of View, McCain praised her greatly. “I have always had respect for you,” McCain said. “When I first came on [the show] my first day, I said ‘I wish to emulate Elisabeth’…you are the OG of this seat.” For someone you may never see on late night again, check out The One Guest Jimmy Kimmel Banned From His Show.
