The hosts of The View returned to their ABC studio on Monday, July 6 after a holiday weekend – although not all of them made it back in time for their broadcast.
However, joining Sunny Hostin, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Michelle Buteau on the panel was Joy Behar, who pointed out up top that she usually doesn't come in on Mondays, and wanted to explain why.
© ABCWhy is The View missing three hosts after the holiday weekend?
"We are down three co-hosts today," she told the studio audience, with Alyssa joking they were "dropping like flies." Joy revealed that Ana Navarro is "stuck in Miami because of the weather," quipping then: "It's always hot there, what's the problem?"
Sara Haines is dealing with "storm damage," while Whoopi Goldberg is stuck in Sicily for a particularly one of a kind reason – an active volcano!
© ABCThe reason for Whoopi Goldberg's The View absence
"And Whoopi is using the old volcano excuse," Joy joked, then cutting to a video of Whoopi herself, coming in from Sicily, who explained that she was spending her holiday weekend in Italy when she happened to be trapped by Mount Etna, one of the tallest active volcanoes in the region.
The volcano erupted in the wee hours of Sunday morning. "I am in Sicily right now, and Mount Etna, which is one of our active volcanoes here in Italy, decided to go off today," the Oscar winner, 70, said in the video.
She explained that she'd spent most of her day trying to find a way back to the United States to host the live show, but all airports were closed and flights were canceled. Whoopi revealed that there's no indication yet of when she'll be returning back to the country.
© Getty Images"I will be back as soon as I can," she added. The Ghost star ended with a joke: "I know that we got all kinds of stories about our different vacations. I think my story just takes the cake: a volcano ate my homework!"
"So there you have it!" Joy concluded, then thanking Michelle for stepping in after she was "roused out of the dead of sleep at 6 AM," who then called it the "best booty call I have ever gotten."
What latest updates do we have on Mount Etna's eruption?
As of writing, the latest update states that the airport closest to the region, the Catania Fontanarossa Airport, will reopen at 10 AM local time on Tuesday. A yellow alert (aka exhibiting signs of elevated unrest) was issued with the volcano's eruption, grounding and canceling several flights, and leaving many others redirected to the nearby Palermo airport.
© Getty ImagesAccording to La Sicilia: "From 7.45 a.m., ash emissions began from the vent on the upper eastern flank of the Voragine crater, intensifying around 8.45 a.m. until generating an eruptive cloud about 1.5 kilometers high above the volcano's summit."
"For safety reasons, incoming flights to Catania-Fontanarossa airport have been suspended, while Ingv models indicate that the ash cloud will move toward the southern and south-southeast sectors in the coming hours."
