Whoopi Goldberg interrupted recording of The View on Tuesday after noticing an audience member recording with his cell phone. Goldberg got up from her seat during the “Hot Topics” segment and walked to the side of the stage, speaking directly to a man who had his phone out with the camera pointed their way. The moment made it into the final cut of the episode, as you can see in the clip below.
Goldberg and her co-hosts were discussing former president Donald Trump‘s ongoing criminal case when the interruption happened. Goldberg said: “Hold on a second. Sir, I have to stop you with the camera because I can see you. Do me a favor: don’t pull it out again. I’d appreciate that. Thank you.” The other co-hosts seemed surprised, and Joy Behar asked quietly: “What was he doing?” Sara Haines answered: “Recording.”
While the incident was shown on camera, the person caught recording was not shown in the broadcast. Afterward, the live audience applauded Goldberg. Later in the episode when Goldberg got frustrated by the course of the conversation, Behar chuckled and said: “Whoopi is not in the mood today for your shenanigans!”
The View is filmed in New York City and, like many other talk shows, attending in the live audience is free. Tickets are distributed through a lottery by a service called 1iota. The 1iota website notes that there are different policies for phones and cameras for different productions, but some shows may require that audience members leave their phone at home or check them upon arrival. It’s safe to assume that recording is prohibited at all of these tapings since the shows want to air their content exclusively. The View is not recorded live.
The interruption did not disrupt Tuesday’s discussion of Trump’s case for very long, as Sunny Hostin picked up right where she had left off. Trump is going to trial in New York on April 15. He has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records, which prosecutors say covered up his payments to his former attorney Michael Cohen who had in turn paid off former adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing – including having an affair with Daniels, paying hush money to cover it up and any other related accusations.
Trump has repeatedly made statements and social media posts attacking New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg and judge Juan Merchan, among others involved in his case. On Tuesday, Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump to prevent him from making public statements about attorneys, court staff or their family members. However, under the rules of the order Trump is still allowed to speak publicly about Bragg and Merchan. The trial begins on April 15.