Sunny Hostin, co-host of “The View,” recently experienced a severe allergic reaction during a live segment of the show. The incident occurred when former co-host Debbie Matenopoulos was presenting recipes from her new cookbook, “GREEK.ish,” at the Hot Topics table. One of the dishes, a peach walnut upside-down cake, triggered Hostin’s allergic reaction to walnuts.
As Hostin began to panic, she quickly scribbled a note to her co-host, Alyssa Farah Griffin, indicating the severity of the situation. Hostin later explained that her note was meant to inform Griffin about her allergy as her tongue started to swell. Matenopoulos had reviewed all potential recipes with the show’s producers in advance.
“I went over the recipes with the producer on the show,” Matenopoulos said, adding that a producer had assured her that no one on the show had food allergies.
Incident underscores allergy awareness on set
During a discussion on the show’s companion podcast, “Behind the Table,” Hostin and executive producer Brian Teta acknowledged the seriousness of the allergic reaction.
Hostin said she experienced panic but was concerned about not disrupting Matenopoulos’ cookbook promotion. “I didn’t want to mess up Debbie’s book,” Hostin said. “If I had run off set, that would have become the story instead of her book at that moment, and I didn’t want to take that away from her.”
The show’s crew acted quickly during the commercial break, rushing to find medical supplies such as Benadryl, EpiPens, and the staff nurse.
Hostin praised the network’s medical team for their swift response, which included administering an EpiPen that ultimately helped alleviate her symptoms. “It’s important for everyone to understand that this was not Debbie’s fault,” Teta emphasized, with Hostin agreeing. She recounted that her tongue and lips were swelling and burning during the incident, and noted that she had been hospitalized twice in the past due to walnut allergies.
“The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
