Disney boss Bob Iger, ABC exec asked 'The View' hosts to cool it on politics: report
Disney CEO Bob Iger and other executives have reportedly asked the co-hosts of "The View" to turn down their heated political rhetoric.
Multiple Disney sources told The Daily Beast that both Iger and ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic recently suggested that the all-female daytime talk show panel be less antagonistic on political issues, though the recommendation was reportedly not taken too seriously. The co-hosts of "The View" have become known as being some of President Donald Trump's fiercest media critics since he began his political career.
"This is what our audience wants. Isn't it gonna look kind of bad if we're all of a sudden not talking about politics?" one source told the outlet, paraphrasing how the co-hosts replied to the ABC and Disney executives.
As the outlet reported, "Karamehmedovic convened a meeting with 'The View's' executive producer Brian Teta and its hosts, and suggested the panel needed to broaden its conversations beyond its predominant focus on politics."
The ABC News president pointed to successful, less political segments with famous guests and suggested the co-hosts focus on this kind of content.
The sources described how the show's hosts pushed back against the suggestion, with Ana Navarro reacting the most forcefully. She told the ABC News head that audiences want the hosts to speak out on political issues.
The sources stated that Navarro and her colleagues found the request "silly" and insisted they were going to "keep doing their thing."
They also spoke of a conversation that Navarro had with Iger during an event last week held by the ABC parent company intended to woo new advertisers.
The co-host reportedly expressed gratitude to Iger for allowing her and her co-hosts to continue doing the show in a politically divisive time. The Disney boss told Navarro he supports the show, but added that it needs to relax with its political commentary.
Multiple sources told The New York Post in February that "The View" executive producer Brian Teta had asked the hosts to try "going easy" on Trump in the weeks leading up to his inauguration.
The request was reportedly the cause of morale being "low" on set at the time.
One of The Daily Beast's sources noted that ABC will "constantly have conversations with talent based on viewer feedback," noting that this latest instance with Iger and Karamehmedovic is "no different."
A spokesperson for ABC News declined to comment for this story. Representatives from Disney did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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