Yahoo Movies Sunny Hostin And Ana Navarro Describe Their Fears And Fallout From False Positive Covid-19 Test That Had Them Abruptly Pulled From ‘The View’
The View co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro said on Monday that subsequent testing showed that they had a false positive Covid-19 results.
The initial positive test led to a chaotic situation live on the show on Friday as they were abruptly pulled from the show in advance of a guest appearance by Vice President Kamala Harris.
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On Monday’s show, Hostin and Navarro, back in person on the set, also described the fallout from having the positive results revealed live on air, creating a moment that left the show scrambling and Harris forced to do the interview from elsewhere in the building.
“It was really uncomfortable for my results to be release publicly before I even knew what was going on, before they were verified, before I was tested again and again,” Hostin said. “And there were real life ramifications when things like that happen.”
She said that her husband, a surgeon, was in the operating room at the time and had to pulled out “because God forbid he’s operating on someone and he’s Covid positive.” She said that her child’s school also had to be notified, and her parents had to rush to be tested.
Hostin got emotional as she described the impact that the false positive test had on her personally. “These are the sorts of real-life things that were happening, and for me it was particularly triggering, because not too long ago I delivered the eulogy at my in-law’s funeral,” she said. “So you could imagine how I felt, thinking I could possibly be Covid positive, and my family could experience another loss, a loss that I don’t think my husband could handle. So I was relieved to say the least to find out that I was Covid negative, and I always was assured by the fact that I am fully vaccinated. And so even if I were Covid positive, I was convinced that I would likely be OK.”
Navarro said that she was “flabbergasted” to learn of the initial positive result.
“My first thought was, ‘Oh my God,’ because I have just spent the day with Kamala Harris’ sister, niece and brother in law, so I am thinking, ‘I’m Typhoid Mary and I’m going to wipe out the entire Harris family in one week. So I have to call them immediately, call your family because you don’t want them to find out from TV. Of course they had, and it shows you just how instant these days news travels.”
Brian Teta, executive producer of The View, said that they found out about the positive test results just moments before they came back from a commercial break, where they were to introduce Harris and have her in studio as a guest. It’s still unclear why the results came in during the show, but the show’s co-hosts talked of how they are tested regularly.
“All I could think of was that we had to keep the hosts safe, we had to keep the vice president safe. She could not walk out no matter what. And that led to some really awkward television that I would like to take back if I could.”
He apologized to Hostin and Navarro because “they were put in this positive where they had this information put out on television and then to make it worse, it turned out not to be true later on.”
“So it was unfortunate that mistakes were made but I can confidently say that we have very rigorous safety protocols, that everyone is regularly tested, and I am just so relieved that you guys are healthy, that everyone is healthy, and nobody was ever in danger,” he said.
Hostin and Navarro thanked viewers and friends for messages of support and concern, but they also said that they received negative responses.
Hostin said that “while I got a lot of love and support, and there is so much good in this world, some of the hatred that I got online and some of the folks that somehow got my phone number, and said some things to me, when you meet your maker, you’ll have to figure that would with that.”
Co-host Joy Behar then interjected, “Figure out what? What are they talking aout? People, get a life..”
Navarro, meanwhile, got a tweet from Donald Trump Jr., who wrote that “given the Ana Navarro news, I think this is a time to have a national conversation about Covid and obesity.”
She then addressed Trump Jr. directly.
“I know that when you are a dimwit, with no skill or talent or significant accomplishments, living off your father’s name and fame and fortune, you’ve got to draw attention to yourself. If you want to have a conversation about Covid and obesity, you could have had it last October, when your elderly, obese father had it. So it is a legitimate conversation to have, and fortunately for you, you have got somebody in your family who you can call and discuss it with. Because imagine having a father whose butt is the size of a studio apartment in New Jersey, you got the gall to pick on me?”
Behar said, “When people have nothing to say, they attack your looks.”
The co-hosts then invited Harris to come back to the show for full panel of questions.
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