By Dory Jackson
Culture Reporter
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Whoopi Goldberg has been under the weather as of late, leading to her absence from her co-hosting duties on ABC's The View. Her fellow colleagues have had to address and dismiss "conspiracy theories" birthed online by fans who have suspected her absence is due to her being the secret new host for Sunday's 91st annual Academy Awards.
Goldberg, 63, was announced on February 4 among the first crop of A-List stars that would present at Sunday's ceremony. Other first-round presenters included Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Tina Fey, Brie Larson, Jennifer Lopez, Amy Poehler, Charlize Theron and Constance Wu. Unlike the other first-round presenters announced, Goldberg has hosted the Oscars before on four occasions.
Goldberg's Oscars past served as the jumping point for Twitter user Peter Knegt to suggest she'll be hosting the ceremony a fifth time. Knegt tweeted Tuesday: "Whoopi Goldberg's absence from The View (she's sick, they say) since the day after they announced her as an Oscar presenter+the fact that she's the only previous Oscar host listed as a presenter. She openly said on The View in January that she'd be up for hosting=???"
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Knegt's tweet sparked debate and excitement among other Twitter users, including People's movies editor Nigel M. Smith. "Let this be true," Smith tweeted. "The gag of it all would almost make up for what a mess the lead-up to the show's been."
Knegt's initial tweet also proved to be headline-making as outlets like IndieWire and Vanity Fair were inspired to report on the speculation.
Goldberg's The View colleagues set the record straight during Wednesday. In doing so, they dissected Knegt's tweet and explained why the Oscar-winner is hasn't appeared on this week's episodes.
"Whoopi's still out, she's not feeling well," Joy Behar began, "And there's all these conspiracy theories on the internet that she's not really sick, she's secretly preparing to host the Oscars."
In response to Behar's opening, Sunny Hostin said "I wish" and argued that Knegt cultivated "a good conspiracy theory." Abby Huntsman said she wished there was truth behind the rumors as well. However, Behar continued to divulge the real reasoning for the Sister Act star's absence with a joke. "Let me just set the record straight right now: Whoopi is on maternity leave, I'm sorry. It was a miracle," she said.
Behar then took a moment to address Goldberg's lacking presence more seriously. She claimed the EGOT recipient, who she visited on Tuesday night, is "getting there" and "on the mends" to recovery.
"She's actually recovering from pneumonia, it's a serious thing," she added. "I don't think she's going to be able to host the Oscars and I'm sure she's very disappointed. She's not even well enough to host this show right now."
The Academy Awards will air Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the network informed TV Line that rumors regarding Goldberg as the ceremony's host were "absolutely false."
The Academy confirmed the Oscars will to air as a hostless event, which is something that hasn't been done since March 1989. Kevin Hart was initially announced as host in December 2018, but the 39-year-old pulled out days later after a series of homophobic tweets were unearthed.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel helmed the role for two-consecutive years before this.
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