Sara Haines wore NBA goggles on The View

Nov 01, 2023

The future is gay volleyball team icon Sara Haines silently wearing a pair of bonkers NBA goggles during a serious discussion about banned books on The View, and, it appears, the future is now.

ABC's iconic daytime talk show returned from a commercial break on Friday to moderator Whoopi Goldberg plugging the NBA Finals while she and her cohosts toyed with five sets of "Victory Goggles" worn by professional players.

"May I ask a question? Is it true that the reason they wear this is because they can shield their eyes from all the champagne that's poured on them?" Sunny Hostin asked while wearing the eyewear.

"Can I get some champagne?" Alyssa Farah Griffin chimed in. Hostin continued, stating that "you could wear this at a party," and that it's "not bad" for a look.

Goldberg never put her goggles on in front of the cameras, and when Ana Navarro segued into a Hot Topics chat about banned books after she encountered a banned book giveaway at a Miami church, Hostin and Griffin removed their glasses to engage on the subject.

But being the queen that she is, Haines left hers on, and silently nodded while the rest of the ladies spoke — including when Navarro earnestly pressured Americans to "show up and say, 'Hell no, we're not going to take it.' The same way they showed up for the free books, we've got to show up and vote."

When Goldberg criticized conservatives for censoring titles about LGBTQIA+ issues as well as titles written by poet Amanda Gorman, Haines continued to watch in silence, emoting only with the lower half of her face.

"You don't want your kids to read this book? Tell the librarian, 'Don't give my child these books.' But don't tell my child they can't have that book," Goldberg said. And there Haines sat, goggles perched on her face.

"When you ban the book, it just makes me want to read it more," Hostin noted, ignoring the fact that Haines sat across from her with a slab of rainbow plastic over her eyes. "I do think it's one of those silly wedge culture war issues that's really going to lead to the demise of whatever candidate attaches him or herself to it."

Goldberg threw the show to commercial, just before the camera pulled back to reveal that Haines was not alone in her apparent one-woman, one-day stand against exposed eyeballs; producer Brian Teta also sat staring into the lens, sporting another pair of NBA goggles.

When the show returned from its break, Haines had freed her corneas and joined the speaking realm at the table once again.

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

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