The View’s Sunny Hostin Shares Her Harrowing On-Set Experience

Sunny Hostin revealed she ‘almost died’ after suffering a medical emergency during an episode of The View this week. 

The TV figure, aged 56, who recently shocked her co-hosts with remarks regarding the Iran–Israel issue, revealed details about the frightening experience on the ABC talk show this past Friday.

Hostin encountered a perilous situation on Wednesday during an appearance by guest Debbie Matenopoulos, who was there to promote her latest cookbook, Greek.ish, and also shared a selection of dishes for the hosts to sample.

During the segment, Matenopoulos — known for her time hosting The View in the late ’90s — explained the meals she shared, including an orzo dish. Hostin soon realized she had a severe allergy to one of the components.

‘She has this wonderful food, Greek food. And I have a terrible allergy to walnuts. And as I’m eating the food, Alyssa [Griffin] asks, “Are those walnuts in here?” And she says, “Yes.”‘ 

Sunny shared that she began ‘to panic immediately’ and penned a ‘death note’ to Griffin who was sitting directly next to her at the time. 

Sunny Hostin, 56, revealed she ‘almost died’ due to an allergic reaction that she had during an episode of The View this week

Earlier on Wednesday, guest Debbie Matenopoulos made an appearance to promote her new cookbook titled Greek.ish – and also brought along a few meals for the hosts to taste

While telling the story on Friday, Hostin then held up a blue card which had the words, ‘I am allergic to walnuts,’ scribbled on the back. 

Sunny continued, ‘And she responds with, “Oh no!” And I’m looking at [executive producer] Brian [Teta] and he’s like, “Is everything okay?”‘

The star had simply responded, ‘No, it’s not,’ by silently shaking her head in his direction. 

Hostin was able to make it to the end of the segment before receiving medical aid from doctors on the set. 

‘But what was great was our Disney nurses, man, they are like superheroes. They came in — nurse Jen came in — with an EpiPen. She was testing me. I had Benadryl. I was scared.’  

Griffin chimed in to explain that she couldn’t read the note that Sunny had quickly written down, but added, ‘We’re glad you made it through.’ 

The TV personality went on to explain that she hadn’t had an allergic reaction to that extent in a decade. 

Hostin has been a co-host on The View since 2016, and currently works alongside Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines and Ana Navarro. 

At one point, Matenopoulos – who previously was a host on The View back in the late 90s – described the items she brought, such as an orzo dish. However, Hostin soon found out that she was deathly allergic to one of the ingredients

Hostin said, ‘She has this wonderful food, Greek food. And I have a terrible allergy to walnuts. And as I’m eating the food, Alyssa [Griffin] asks, “Are those walnuts in here?” And she says, “Yes”‘

Sunny shared that she began ‘to panic immediately’ and penned a ‘death note’ to Griffin who was sitting directly next to her at the time. Hostin then held up a blue card, which read, ‘I am allergic to walnuts’

‘But what was great was our Disney nurses, man, they are like superheroes. They came in — nurse Jen came in — with an EpiPen. She was testing me. I had Benadryl. I was scared,’ the star expressed

Despite her allergy to walnuts, Sunny has talked about some of her favorite snacks during an interview with Us Weekly last year.

‘My co-hosts on The View make fun of me, but I eat Funyuns,’ the star said, referencing to the onion-flavored chips. 

‘I think it’s kind of a strange thing, but I eat Funyuns. It’s not great for the breath, so I have mints.’ 

However, Hostin has a special twist when it comes to munching on the snack and will dip the chips in hot sauce. 

‘Ana Navarro’s right next door and she just looks in at me and she’s just like, “Are you eating that again?” I am,’ Sunny humorously added. 

And a few months earlier in March, Hostin got candid about her weight loss journey and discussed using Mounjaro – an injectable medication for adults with type 2 diabetes. 

She had turned to the drug due to feeling ‘shame’ for gaining 40 pounds during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Sunny told DailyMail.com, ‘All I did was eat… I love to cook, and I found out, I love to eat. And I was horrified about the fact that I would have to come out on air. So I also took Mounjaro.’ 

And a few months earlier in March, Hostin got candid about her weight loss journey and discussed using Mounjaro – an injectable medication for adults with type 2 diabetes; seen earlier this month in NYC

‘I was never a big eater, so I just sort of eat to live. I don’t live to eat,’ Sunny explained, and emphasize she also ‘never stopped working out’; seen in March in NYC 

When she stopped taking Mounjaro, Hostin talked about the ‘different experience’ that she had. 

‘I feel really great. I don’t know what everyone else’s experience with it is, but I never gained any weight back.’

The media personality further added, ‘So, that was kind of weird. Hopefully, nothing bad will happen to me.’

The mom-of-two added that her body feels the same following her time taking the medication. 

‘I was never a big eater, so I just sort of eat to live. I don’t live to eat,’ Sunny explained, and emphasize she also ‘never stopped working out.’ 

The author – who took Mounjaro over the span of four months – added, ‘Yeah, I’m just living life and feeling pretty good.’ 

When the talk show host was asked if she would go back on the medication, she replied with, ‘If I needed to, sure. Why not?’ 

Back in 2024 during an episode of The View, Hostin first revealed that she had taken Mounjaro. 

‘During Covid I gained 40 pounds. All I did was eat. I love to cook and I found out I love to eat. And I was horrified by the fact that I would have to come out on air. So I took Mounjaro.’ 

She had also shared some of the negative reaction she received in regards to her weight loss. 

‘I got all these nasty emails saying you’re too skinny and why did you do this and you’re taking the drug away from diabetics. So there is shame when you’ve gained weight and I had never experienced that kind of shame before.’