It was the kind of morning television meltdown no one could have scripted — though if anyone were to try, it would’ve been Elon Musk.
After nearly three decades on air, ABC’s The View officially went dark this week, less than 24 hours after its parent company was acquired by the billionaire entrepreneur. In what many are calling “the most Elon Musk thing ever,” the new owner’s first executive decision was to cancel the long-running daytime talk show effective immediately.
“Those toxic hens had to go,” Musk allegedly said in a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter). “Consider it my first act of mercy.”
The announcement sent shockwaves through the entertainment world — and tears through the studio — as Whoopi Goldberg, the show’s longtime moderator and cultural lightning rod, reportedly broke down while filming what would become The View’s final moments.
According to production staff present on set, the mood on Thursday morning was “chaotic, surreal, and slightly caffeinated.” No one had been told the show was canceled until Musk’s tweet went viral mid-rehearsal.
“When we saw Elon’s post, we thought it was a joke,” said one stagehand. “Then the network sent an email titled ‘URGENT: Programming Adjustments.’ That’s when everyone started crying — or cheering, depending on who you asked.”
Goldberg, 69, reportedly kept her composure at first, thanking the audience and her co-hosts for “nearly thirty years of spirited discussion.” But as the reality sank in — that The View was truly finished — she became visibly emotional.
“I know a lot of people didn’t agree with us,” Goldberg said, her voice trembling. “But we kept talking. And that’s what matters.”
Then, with unintentional irony, Joy Behar interrupted her, saying, “Well, we won’t be talking anymore!” The audience laughed nervously.
Moments later, studio security began quietly escorting the production crew off set, citing “new ownership protocols.”
Elon Musk finalized the $10 billion purchase of ABC earlier this week in what analysts are calling the most bizarre media acquisition since AOL bought Time Warner.
The billionaire framed the purchase as a “necessary step to restore sanity to mainstream television.”
“ABC has great potential,” Musk said during a live Spaces broadcast. “But first we need to clean house — literally. Too many shows have become emotional therapy sessions for people who don’t build rockets.”
His followers, predictably, applauded the move. Within hours of the announcement, hashtags like #FreeTV and #MuskView trended worldwide.
However, not everyone was amused. Hollywood unions, network producers, and a sizable portion of suburban America expressed outrage that a man who once renamed Twitter to “X” now controls one of America’s oldest broadcast networks.
Still, Musk remained unmoved, posting a meme that read:
“One small step for man, one giant leap for morning television.”
Producers described the cancellation as “instant and merciless.”
Security arrived at ABC’s Manhattan studio shortly after the announcement, reportedly delivering new access badges labeled “MuskVision Media.” Staff were told to “await further instructions.”
By noon, the The View’s official social media accounts had been locked, and the show’s YouTube archive vanished. The set itself was dismantled within hours — its famous coffee table replaced by what one source described as “a single leather chair and an LED wall showing Tesla stock prices.”
“Honestly,” one camera operator sighed, “it was the quietest it’s ever been.”
Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin reportedly learned about the cancellation at the same time as the public.
Behar, ever the comedian, joked to paparazzi outside the studio:
“Well, I guess I’m available for brunch now.”
Hostin was less amused, posting on X, “This is what happens when billionaires buy the media.” Her post was promptly marked “Community Noted” by Musk’s team with a correction: “Actually, this is what happens when billionaires make better TV.”
Meanwhile, Goldberg — the heart and soul of The View since 2007 — appeared tearful but philosophical.
“We had a good run,” she told reporters later that afternoon. “I may not agree with Elon on a lot, but I do hope he understands what it takes to talk to America every morning. It’s not easy. It’s not polite. But it’s honest.”
In a company-wide memo leaked to the press, Musk reportedly outlined his plans for ABC’s “new era.”
Among the proposed programming changes:
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A nightly tech news show called The Algorithm Hour hosted by AI avatars.
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A reality competition titled So You Think You Can Engineer.
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And replacing The View with a “rational debate forum” featuring Jordan Peterson, Joe Rogan, and “an open slot for anyone from NASA.”
When asked about the move, Musk told a reporter,
“Daytime TV should make people think, not yell. Unless the yelling is about quantum mechanics.”
Reactions from viewers were mixed — equal parts heartbreak, confusion, and schadenfreude.
Some longtime fans expressed sadness that the show’s legacy of debate and diversity had ended so abruptly. Others celebrated what they saw as “the end of televised hysteria.”
“Finally, some peace and quiet before the afternoon soaps,” wrote one user on Facebook.
Another posted, “If Elon replaces The View with a SpaceX livestream, I’ll actually start watching ABC again.”
Late-night hosts wasted no time weighing in either.
“Elon Musk canceled The View,” quipped one. “Finally, a man who understands that you can’t moderate five people talking at once.”
For Goldberg, the moment was deeply personal. She’s been the face of The View for 17 years, weathering on-air feuds, viral memes, and more political storms than a campaign season could handle.
Insiders say she stayed in the studio long after the lights dimmed, hugging crew members and thanking them individually.
“She cried,” one technician recalled. “Then she laughed. Then she asked if anyone wanted to go grab breakfast. Classic Whoopi.”
Sources close to the star say she’s already fielding offers for her next project — possibly a podcast or an independent talk show on a streaming platform “that doesn’t rhyme with ‘X.’”
Hours after the broadcast ended, Musk posted a photo of himself sitting on the now-empty View stage, coffee mug in hand, with the caption:
“Finally, I can speak without being interrupted.”
The post amassed 60 million views in under three hours.
Critics called it arrogant. Fans called it hilarious. ABC’s stock called it “up 12%.”
Despite the chaos, one thing is certain: The View changed television forever. It proved that people — especially women — could debate politics, pop culture, and morality over coffee and still pull in millions of viewers.
And if Musk’s new era of “rational debate” somehow manages to fill that space, it will only be because The View made the chaos possible.
As one former producer put it:
“Elon may have canceled the show, but he’ll never cancel the noise. And honestly, the noise was the best part.”