Joy Behar Is Leaving ‘The View’ After 16 Year Run

Television host Joy Behar is leaving ABC’s daytime talk show “The View” after a 16-year run. The 70-year-old host has appeared on the show since its creation in 1997.

“Joy Behar has been instrumental in the success of ‘The View’ from the very beginning. We wish her all the best in this next chapter, and are thrilled that we have her for the remainder of the season,” the network said in a statement.

Behar will bid farewell to her co-hosts — Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Elisabeth Hasselbeck — when the current season ends in August. When asked why she wanted to leave “The View,” the veteran on-air personality told Deadline.com, “it seemed like the right time.” Behar said she also plans to write a play and return to stand-up comedy.