“The View ”audience member says Whoopi Goldberg stopped physical confrontation over man recording show on phone

“The View ”audience member says Whoopi Goldberg stopped physical confrontation over man recording show on phone

A studio audience member exclusively tells EW what you didn't see on TV as two people tussled with a man that Goldberg scolded on set.

Whoopi Goldberg shocked The View Tuesday when she got up from her seat to scold an audience member for recording the show on his cell phone. Now, a member of the live studio crowd exclusively tells Entertainment Weekly what he observed in the room that didn't make it to TV.

According to New York City resident Brian Wilson, who provided EW with a photo of a ticket confirmation that granted him access to Tuesday's live show, viewers at home didn't witness a physical confrontation that preceded the Oscar winner leaving the Hot Topics table to address a man she spotted filming the broadcast on his phone.

Wilson tells EW the conflict began as soon as the hosts came out on stage and he estimates it lasted roughly six minutes before Goldberg put an end to things. He says he witnessed two women clash with the man — whom he says appeared to be in his mid-60s — about three seats away from where Wilson sat. At first, Wilson recalls a woman sitting in front of the man getting annoyed because he "had his camera out, and he was putting the camera over her head to get to view" the cohosts as they spoke at the table.

Then, as the show progressed Wilson says things grew tense. "I can see hand gestures out of the corner of my eye," Wilson says. "I could hear some noise on my right side, it started to become a little distracting."

<p>ABC</p> Whoopi Goldberg scolds an audience member for recording 'The View' on his phone

ABC

Whoopi Goldberg scolds an audience member for recording 'The View' on his phone

"I could hear the woman say, 'Stop that' and 'move,'" Wilson remembers of the "confrontation" unfolding. "At one point I heard her say, 'We might have to call security on you.'"

"Once I saw the flustering, I looked over, and I could see the guy has his camera out, the woman to his right is putting her hands on him, on the camera, to lower it down," he continues. "She's basically saying 'Stop! Stop filming! Stop doing that! He aggressively nudges her hand away and was like, 'No.' He was not having. That's when I was like, 'Oh, this is bad.'"

Wilson says that's when Goldberg got involved and put a stop to the "tussle," which prompted the audience to awkwardly clap in support.

"I can see some of the producers, stage hands, they're all looking in that direction to see who the guy is. I thought for sure that once the show went to commercial, they'd be like, 'Sir, you need to get out,' but to my surprise, they didn't," Wilson adds, noting that a crew member approached the man and told him not to get his phone out again.

EW has reached out to a representative for The View for comment.

<p>ABC</p> 'The View'

ABC

'The View'

On Tuesday, the live telecast showed the Ghost star approaching the audience to tell the man to put his device away. "Hold on a second, hold on," Goldberg said in the live telecast. "Sir, I have to stop you with the camera. Because I can see you. So, do me a favor, don't pull it out again, I'd appreciate that. Thank you."

Speaking to producer Brian Teta on the show's Behind the Table companion podcast, Sara Haines elaborated on the ordeal.

"There was a man in our eye line. Directly. He was lifting his phone up, and the woman next to him kept hitting his arm pretty aggressively," Haines said. “She kept swatting his phone down."

Haines said she could also hear them from her seat, noting: "I was having a hard time focusing because I was thinking, is this growing or building? And that's when Whoopi got up."

The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.