Whoopi Makes Her Big Debut On ‘The View’

“The View” kicked off its eleventh season today with the big debut of new co-host Whoopi Goldberg.

An enthusiastic standing ovation welcomed Whoopi and fellow co-hosts Barbara Walters, Joy Behar and (a very pregnant) Elisabeth Hasselbeck as they took their places on the revamped orange and yellow set.

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg offered his own welcoming words with a letter, in which he jokingly inferred that they picked the wrong “berg” for the job. “Goldberg, Bloomberg,” his letter read. “You must’ve gotten confused. We look so much alike.”

The laughs didn’t end there, as the women easily played off each other to hilarious effect during the “hot topics” portion of the show.

Whoopi commented on the news that hotel mogul Leona Helmsley had left her dog $12 million dollars upon her death, saying, “If I’d have known that’s what she wanted, I would’ve been her — well, you know what I’m saying,” prompting Joy to chime in: “You would’ve been her b*tch,” to lots of laughs.

Even when “hot topics” took a more serious turn, such as in the discussion of the Michael Vick dogfighting case, things remained civil and friendly among the hosts.

Danny DeVito, who stirred up some headlines when he appeared seemingly “tipsy” on the show last season, returned as the sole guest of the episode.

DeVito said that he had been merely tired during that infamous appearance, not drunk, and went on to discuss both his Premium Limoncello beverage line and the new season of his TV series, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

As the show closed, Whoopi stated that it had been “a lot of fun,” and gave the sign-off, “Have a great day and take time to enjoy the view.”

As for the mysterious fifth co-host expected to join the show?

Walters told Access Hollywood after today’s taping, “We will shortly be adding a new member to the panel, and it’s not George Clooney as some have suggested — but it is somebody the audience will know (already). That’s all I want to say.”

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