The Season 27 premiere of “The View” took an unexpected turn as co-host Whoopi Goldberg was conspicuously absent, battling her third bout of COVID-19, much to the surprise of viewers.

Rumors and speculations ran amok, prompting the liberal-leaning show to dispel the conjecture by airing a video of Goldberg addressing her Health status.

“In spite of everything you’ve heard, and let me just make sure you all know that it’s actually me,” Goldberg said, pulling down her facial mask in a video played during Wednesday’s episode, the Los Angeles Times reported.

This revelation came following co-host Joy Behar’s announcement that Goldberg “is so under the thing — the COVID weather.”

Behar seemed prepared for the audience’s questions, stating, “This is her third bout, I believe.”

She also tackled the vaccination issue head-on, saying, “People write, ‘Well, she got the vaccination, how come she still gets it? Because she’s not dead. She’s a little bit under the weather.”

In the video message sent to the show, Goldberg, who has received three Vaccine doses, addressed online speculation about her absence.

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“I am not at Burning Man. I am not still in Italy. I am not, you know, doing stuff. I’m not trying to change the outcome of the election. I just have COVID,” she said, addressing online speculation about her conspicuous absence.

“I’m still testing positive apparently. I have to have a clear test before I can come back. So it might be a couple of days.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPIIKqSHWEU

Behar confirmed Goldberg’s vaccination status and expressed frustration with those questioning it, stating, “This type of irrational talk drives me nuts!”

The irony of Goldberg, an outspoken liberal actress and advocate for masking and vaccination, wearing a mask alone did not go unnoticed by viewers and critics.

Conservative Trump supporter Brandon Tatum posted on X, “Whoopi Zooms in to The View with a mask on by herself in a room!”

Some critics suggested a suspicious pattern in the timing of Goldberg’s diagnosis.

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Journalist Kyle Becker tweeted, “First Jill Biden, now Whoopi has Covid. This is how they’re priming America to bring back Covid lockdowns for the election. Everything is a script.”

Conservative radio host Clay Travis questioned the seriousness of COVID-19, asking, “Do these people realize covid is a mild cold for most?”

Meanwhile, centrist podcaster Tim Pool added a dose of humor, asking, “How many boosters did Whoopi get? 87?”

While this news about the award-winning actress contracting the Virus for the third time has garnered amusement from many quarters, it is worth noting that Goldberg herself expressed profound surprise when she tested positive in January, The Independent reported.

Her astonishment stemmed from the fact that she had received a triple vaccination against the disease, a precautionary measure meant to provide a higher degree of protection.

“I haven’t been anywhere. I hadn’t done anything,” she explained. “But that’s the thing about Omicron — you just don’t know where it is.”

Emphasizing the importance of adhering to COVID-19 protocols, Goldberg urged viewers to get vaccinated to prevent the spread of new variants as the United States continued to grapple with an Omicron-led surge in cases at the beginning of the year, according to the ABC News.

She stated, “I don’t know how much more proof people need to see that the vaccination, while it does not necessarily stop it from happening again, it is not happening at the same rate that it was.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.