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Welcome back to The View, Lisa Ling! The TV personality and current CNN commentator returned as part of the ABC talk show’s “Flashback Friday” series, in which former co-hosts make guest appearances to celebrate the show’s 25th season and help fill the empty panel spot left by Meghan McCain. Her reintroduction to the series was met with overwhelming positivity from viewers, who took to social media to celebrate.
Ling originally co-hosted The View from 1999 to 2002, joining the show at just 26 years old. During her audition, which was infamously conducted live on air, former host Meredith Vieira threw the journalist for a loop by asking personal information like whether or not she was a virgin.
“I always tell [my parents that] they heard wrong,” Ling joked in today’s episode. “She didn’t ask if I was a virgin, she asked if I was a Virgo.”
Ling added that over the years, The View has “become part of the cultural zeitgeist,” challenging the notion that the general public didn’t care about what was going on in the world.
“I learned so much on this show from my mother figures and my co-hosts, who were more experienced than me,” she continued.
Ling’s appearance on the show was kept a secret until today’s episode aired, and folks quickly took to social media to share their excitement over seeing her on the panel again.
“The View should’ve never let this brilliant queen go!” one user wrote.
Another argued that the show should invite Ling back, saying: “Honestly, just ask Lisa Ling to come back as a regular member. If not a permanent member for Season 25, a regular cohost like Ana Navarro. Ling really bring[s] balance to the table in so many ways.”
Although the other co-hosts briefly disagreed with Ling when she argued that the current presidential administration should communicate with the public more frequently by pointing out that former President Donald Trump spoke directly to Americans about the pandemic on an almost daily basis, the hot topic discussions remained noticeably calmer than they often were when McCain served as a co-host.
This prompted one viewer to make a subtle dig at McCain and her regular mentions of her father, former Senator John McCain, while praising Ling’s presence.
“I’m so glad #TheView is bringing back all the previous co-hosts to erase the negativity from the ‘My Father’ host,” they wrote. “So refreshing!”
The View airs weekdays on ABC at 11/10c. Watch a segment from today’s episode in the clip above.
