Meghan McCain would like to speak to the manager. And by “the manager” we actually mean her lawyers, who she has threatened to consult over insinuations she believes were made about her yesterday on The View.
It all started during a conversation about Hunter Biden (🥱🥱🥱), when co-host Ana Navarro brought up influence peddling, which is when a person uses their position or political influence to curry favors.
“Look, did Hunter Biden influence peddle on his last name? Yes, he did. So did half of Washington. People sitting at this table did it!” Navarro, a Republican, said.
After clarifying that she wasn’t referring to anyone currently sitting at the table, the other co-hosts all laughed, along with the audience, and the conversation quickly moved on.
Watch.
McCain responded her usual totally reasonable, totally rational, totally not dramatic way… by going on Twitter X and threatening to sue.
“I don’t understand why my former colleagues @TheView @ABC bring me up and slander me on an almost weekly basis,” she tweeted yesterday. “It has been years – move on, I have.”
She continued, “I have never been accused of a crime in my life and am a patriotic American – I would never and have never ‘influenced peddled’ in my life, let alone with foreign adversaries. Not all politicians children are the same – and I am no Hunter Biden. All accusations are absurd, defamatory and slanderous.”
“I will be consulting my lawyers regarding what was libeled against me on The View this morning.”
OK first, Meghan, calm down. Nobody accused you of “committing crimes.” ❄️❄️❄️
Second, slander and libel are two different things.
Third, Navarro didn’t call anyone out by name, and there have been many co-hosts on The View over the years, so she could have been referring to anyone. As the old saying goes: “Not everything is about you.”
And fourth, you just did an interview back in October comparing your former colleagues to a bad ex-boyfriend and said you don’t watch the show anymore. (Your exact words were “I don’t have time to watch this kind of content,” but maybe yesterday was an exception?)
Let’s also not forget about that scorched-earth memoir you published last year in which you talked all about how much you hated being on The View, working with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, and talking to many of the guests, including the beloved Nathan Lane, who you called “a d*ck.”
Now, what was that you said about “moving on” again?
(Sidenote: We’ve interviewed Nathan Lane here at Queerty and we are happy to report he is a lovely person and an absolute joy to talk to!)
McCain has acknowledged in the past that she’s relied on her last name to get ahead in her life and career, even issuing a shoutout to all her fellow “nepo babies” on Instagram last year.
“To my fellow ‘Nepo babies’—just acknowledge your privilege, the opportunities your last name has gotten you and move on,” she famously wrote on her Instagram Stories in December 2022. “It’s pretty simple.”
She’s also never missed an opportunity to remind everyone who her father was. (The late Senator John McCain, in case anyone forgot.)
Here’s how folx have been responding to Meghan’s tweet…
Not a nepo baby threatening litigation because her former colleagues don’t like her 😭
— Lee Meyer (@leemeyer26) December 14, 2023
A guilty conscience needs no accuser. One could ask, are you telling on yourself, dear.
— Hojo65 🇺🇸 (@ados_strong) December 14, 2023
Karma!🤣You have slandered many, many people on air the WHOLE TIME YOU WERE ON @TheView! And no…you are not Hunter Biden bcuz he doesn’t hate like you. YOU slandered Hunter just now by what U wrote! #Accusations against Hunter Biden & Pres Biden are just ‘accusations’. Go away.
— Mittens 🇺🇦🌾🌻 (@mushroomfeet) December 14, 2023
I thought your brand is the “Reasonable” Republican. How’s that working out for you?
— RuvalDee (@DeeRuval) December 15, 2023
— JAIME (@justice4equity) December 14, 2023
You’re a public figure. The rules are different for public figures and you’d get laughed out of court.
— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) December 14, 2023
It was a cheap shot but you’ve got no case. Save your money.
— Big Bend 1911 (@Charles07788205) December 15, 2023
I watch every day and haven’t heard them mention you (haven’t watched yet today). You however wrote a scathing article about your time there, snowflake.
— Lisa says (@brunofan2012) December 14, 2023
Ana didn’t mention your name. The fact that you think it was about you is not her problem.
— David (@SoWhat_WhoCares) December 14, 2023
1) It would be slander, not libel.
2) Those on The View are clearly given their opinion, not stating facts.
3) You obviously haven’t moved on.— Jon_in_Florida (@Jon_in_Florida) December 14, 2023