In a jaw-dropping power play that has Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and daytime TV audiences reeling, Elon Musk has reportedly shelled out a staggering $900 million to buy out the parent company of The View — and immediately shut the show down. His first order of business? Firing longtime host Whoopi Goldberg.
According to multiple insiders, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the surprise acquisition through a shell investment firm earlier this week, finalizing the deal in under 72 hours. The acquisition includes key controlling rights to The View, a flagship program of ABC that’s been running since 1997.
But Musk wasn’t interested in revamping the show — he wanted it gone.
“Terminate it. And Whoopi’s done, too. That’s what he said — no hesitation,” a high-level executive close to the deal revealed. “It wasn’t about money. It was personal.”
The move follows a tense few months of escalating verbal jabs between Musk and The View panelists, especially Whoopi Goldberg, who has repeatedly criticized Musk’s policies at X (formerly Twitter), calling him “a danger to democracy” and “a man drunk on digital power.”
Elon apparently had enough.
In a now-deleted post on X shortly after the acquisition was announced, Musk wrote:
“Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from consequences. The View has been canceled — permanently.”
Within hours of the news breaking, ABC released a brief, stunned statement:
“We are aware of the situation and are currently evaluating the future of our daytime programming.”
Fans of The View are devastated, while critics are cheering the show’s sudden demise. Social media exploded with hashtags like #ByeByeView, #WhoopiFired, and #MuskWreckingBall.
While Musk has yet to offer a full explanation for the $900M splurge, analysts say this might be the most expensive revenge plot in TV history — and a sign that the billionaire is willing to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to fighting what he sees as “mainstream hypocrisy.”
As for Whoopi Goldberg? No public comment — yet.
But sources close to the ousted host say she was “blindsided” and “furious,” calling Musk a “petty billionaire with a God complex.”
Love him or hate him, Elon Musk just proved again: he doesn’t play by anyone’s rules but his own.
