Whoopi Goldberg Interrupts ‘The View’ to Hug Guest Harvey Guillen

Whoopi Goldberg interrupted The View on Wednesday, January 29, to share a very special moment with guest Harvey Guillén.

Goldberg, 69, got up from her chair during the panel’s interview with Guillén, 34, to share a hug while discussing male loneliness and self-belief.

The View’s moderator was clearly thrilled to have the What We Do in the Shadows alum joining the table as she revealed she’s a superfan of his work.

“I jumped him when I met him the first time,” Goldberg remembered. “I loved his show, which is called What We Do in the Shadows.”

Goldberg praised Guillén for doing “so much work” advocating greater representation for the LGBTQIA+ community in the entertainment industry.

The panel discussion later turned towards Guillén’s latest project Companion, a science fiction thriller that examines themes of consent and human interaction.

Guillén and The White Lotus star Lukas Gage play guests at a remote cabin who discover that their friend Josh’s (The Boys’ Jack Quaid) girlfriend, Iris (Sophie Thatcher), is actually a ‘companion robot.’ Nerves fray on this couples’ trip as Iris has her revenge.

“When I read this script, there was shock value to the way some of these characters talked to their partners,” Guillén recalled. “I never realized how sometimes you see people paired off and you think, ‘You talk to your wife like that? You talk to your husband like that?’ Whether it be the future, which may or may not involve love robots or love partners, or whatnot, how you talk to a human being is very telling of yourself.”

Guillén credited Companion with helping him contextualize the importance of self-love and genuine reflection for men.

“Sometimes people say, well, there’s this epidemic of male loneliness, which is a thing, but also, sometimes the male has to stop and realize, ‘Maybe I need to fix myself.’ How are you going to love someone else if you can’t love yourself?” Guillén argued.

Goldberg pointed out to her View cohosts that she’d made the same point in the past, before stopping the show momentarily to give Guillén a hug.

“I love you! Oh, my god,” Goldberg declared during the impromptu hug.

The View hosts later shifted the discussion towards Guillén’s love life, asking whether he was currently dating anyone.

“No, “ he replied with a chuckle. “I actually was dating someone while I was filming the movie, and Lukas Gage, who plays my partner in the movie, we were both in relationships.”

Guillén continued: “We were talking about our relationships together and we were so in love that we brought that [feeling] to the characters. Now, we’re both single! I was like, ‘You think it was because we saw the red flags when we were filming this?’ And, I think it is!”

Guillén explained to The View’s cohosts that he ended his most recent relationship because his partner “mimicked love” but wasn’t able to actually commit fully.

“I look back and [think], ‘Wow! I’m not the same person I was when I filmed that movie. And I’m not going to be the person tomorrow that I am today,’” Guillén acknowledged. “So, we all move on!”

Earlier this month, Guillén joined his Companion costars including Gage, Quaid, Thatcher and Rupert Friend for the project’s red carpet premiere at the Hollywood Legion Theater. The gala was the first Hollywood premiere to take place since wildfires devastated the Los Angeles area throughout January.

Guillén is next set to star opposite Eva Longoria and Flamin’ Hot actor Jesse Garcia in the family comedy Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip, which will be released on Disney+ March 28.

The View airs Mondays through Fridays on ABC, while streaming spinoff The Weekend View airs on ABC News Now Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. ET and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. ET. Guillén’s new movie Companion opens in theaters Friday, January 31.