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Fact check: Which companies have pulled advertising from The View due to controversy?
Executive Summary
Two advertisers — Johnson & Johnson and Eggland’s Best — are reported to have pulled advertising from The View in direct response to controversy over co-host Joy Behar’s comments about a nurse monologue, according to multiple items in the provided dossier [1]. Other items in the dossier note advertiser pauses in different media contexts and sources that do not corroborate broader sponsor withdrawal, indicating limited, confirmed sponsor exits but wider, ambiguous signals about advertiser behavior across related controversies [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. What the reporting directly claims about sponsors walking away
The core claim repeated across the dataset is that Johnson & Johnson and Eggland’s Best pulled advertising from The View, explicitly tied to backlash over comments made by Joy Behar regarding a Miss America nurse monologue. The same allegation appears in at least three of the provided analyses, which cite an October 4, 2025 item summarizing advertisers’ decisions [1]. These entries present the advertiser moves as direct responses to public outrage and include a stated corporate message from Johnson & Johnson about valuing nurses and disagreeing with the on-air remarks, framing the action as reputational risk mitigation rather than a contractual or programming dispute [1].
2. Where the dossier shows limits and gaps in confirmation
Contrasting entries in the materials explicitly state no relevant information about advertisers pulling ads in certain reports, or discuss unrelated advertiser retreats tied to other networks and controversies. For example, a September piece cited in the dataset describes advertisers pausing buys with Nexstar and Sinclair stations over free-speech concerns — a distinct phenomenon not tied to The View — and another item flagged as a cookie/privacy page contains no advertiser data [2] [3]. Separate pieces in the set say The View faced viewer pressure and FCC attention without citing sponsor withdrawals, showing inconsistent coverage and partial sourcing [4] [5].
3. How strong the sourcing is and what’s missing
The repeated identification of Johnson & Johnson and Eggland’s Best as withdrawers comes from a single dated item echoed across the dataset (Oct. 4, 2025), with that claim replicated in multiple summaries [1]. The dataset lacks direct links to official press releases from the companies, screenshots of ad buys or network confirmations, and independent corroboration from major outlets or the companies’ communications teams. This means the claim is consistent within the dossier but underdocumented externally, and important corroborating evidence — such as official statements from The View’s distributor, advertising-tracking data, or legal/contractual disclosures — is not present.
4. Alternative interpretations the materials point to
The dossier suggests two plausible alternative readings: first, the advertiser moves could be targeted, reputational decisions by specific brands sensitive to nursing-community backlash; second, similar advertiser pauses in other networks demonstrate a broader marketplace caution where brands temporarily halt buys amid controversy. The Nexstar/Sinclair advertiser pauses example underlines the industry tendency to pause or reassess placements rather than permanently sever relationships, which could apply to The View advertisers as well [2]. The dataset therefore supports both a narrow-exit narrative and a broader-pattern narrative without definitively choosing between them.
5. How companies framed the decision, based on the dataset
Within the provided analyses, Johnson & Johnson is reported to have framed its decision around valuing and appreciating nurses and disagreeing with on-air comments, a reputational rationale rather than a legal or financial one [1]. Eggland’s Best is listed alongside Johnson & Johnson as pulling ads, but the dossier does not include direct quotations from that company. The lack of direct corporate releases in the material means the public framing of motives rests primarily on third-party reports rather than primary statements.
6. What further evidence would settle the question
To move from likely to definitive, the dossier highlights the need for: direct corporate press releases or confirmed statements from Johnson & Johnson and Eggland’s Best; confirmation from ABC/Disney Advertising about replaced buys; ad-tracking data showing campaign stops; and reporting from multiple independent outlets beyond the single October item. Absent those, the current record in the supplied materials supports a credible but not exhaustively corroborated claim that two advertisers pulled ads, while leaving open whether additional sponsors followed or if pauses were temporary [1] [2].
7. Bottom line for readers weighing the claim
The supplied reporting consistently identifies Johnson & Johnson and Eggland’s Best as having pulled advertising from The View in response to controversy [1]. However, the dossier also contains material that either does not address advertiser exits or points to unrelated advertiser pauses, underscoring incomplete corroboration and the need for primary-source confirmation before treating the list as exhaustive. Readers should view the two named pullouts as the best-supported claim in this dataset while recognizing the limitations and avenues for follow-up verification.