Meghan McCain leaving ‘The View’
Meghan McCain, whose outspoken conservative views have frequently led to verbal fireworks and compelling television on ABC’s “The View,” said Thursday that she is quitting the daytime talk show after four years.
McCain, daughter of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, announced on the air that she would leave after the show’s season ends in late July. The commentator, 36, is usually the only conservative voice among the cast of five women, and not afraid to mix it up when she disagrees with them.
The show, invented more than two decades ago by Barbara Walters, has done well in the ratings with a mix of celebrity guests and, most prominently, the combustible “hot topics” session where they kick around the day’s news.
During the pandemic, the hosts have been appearing remotely instead of meeting in a New York studio. McCain, married to conservative commentator Ben Domenech and mother of a baby daughter, said she didn’t want to leave her life in the Washington area to commute again to work.
“This was not an easy decision,” she said. “It took a lot of thought and counsel and prayer.”
ABC News said in a statement that it respected and understood her decision, and thanked McCain for her “fierce determination and vast political knowledge and experience.”
Judge denies request by Spears:
A judge has ruled against Britney Spears in her attempt to have her father, Jamie Spears, removed as conservator of her estate. The pop star, 39, was formally denied Wednesday, NBC News
reported. Judge Brenda Penny denied the request without prejudice, meaning Britney Spears can file new motions to have her father removed.
Late Tuesday, Jamie Spears called for an investigation into his daughter’s claims of abuse. In testimony last week, Britney Spears detailed the draconian nature of the conservatorship, including that she is forced to use an IUD and is not allowed to have children or drive a car.
Jamie Spears, 68, is in charge of his daughter’s finances but not her day-to-day life in the two-part conservatorship. The pop star’s personal decisions are controlled by Jodi Montgomery, a professional conservator. Jamie Spears claimed that he has been cut off from communicating with his daughter.
Montgomery shot back Wednesday after the investigation request was publicized, People magazine reported. She claimed that, as the money man, Jamie Spears had to approve any personal decisions.
Montgomery said she
was planning on “setting forth a path for termination of the conservatorship,” according to People.
The next hearing in the case is set for July 14.
Franco settles in misconduct suit: James Franco and his co-defendants agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle a lawsuit alleging he intimidated students at an acting and film school he founded into gratuitous and exploitative sexual situations, court filings made public Wednesday showed. The two sides first reached a deal to settle the class-action suit in February, but it took several months to resolve details.
The settlement has been submitted to a Los Angeles judge for approval.
July 2 birthdays: Pianist Ahmad Jamal is 91. Actor Robert Ito is 90. Actor Polly Holliday is 84. Director Larry David is 74. Actor Jerry Hall is 65. Actor Yancy Butler is 51. Actor Owain Yeoman is 43. Actor Vanessa Lee Chester is 37. Actor Ashley Tisdale is 36. Actor Lindsay Lohan is 35. Actor Margot Robbie is 31.