When Meghan McCain leaves “The View” this month, she may also be saying goodbye to Twitter. The host revealed her exit plan on Wednesday’s episode, citing the toxicity she’s seen and experienced online.
The discussion began with the panel of women debating Idris Elba’s recent comments that all social media users should have to verify their identity as part of an effort to curb anonymous trolling. Each of the women agreed they thought it was a good idea, especially considering the comments they’ve received online.
“It’s a free country, you can say whatever you want, we have freedom of speech. But you can’t say whatever you want without consequences,” McCain said. “And I think if you are going to send racist notes to ‘View’ hosts, to anyone in the world, if you’re going to harass women, if you’re going to tell them you want them raped and killed, I think your employer should know about it.”
McCain then revealed she’s been toying with the idea of leaving Twitter. She reasoned that since the global pandemic began more than a year ago, people online — and particularly those who target her anonymously — have only gotten more volatile.
“Candidly, I was talking with my husband last night. I’ve been on Twitter 13 years, which is like, a really long time to be on Twitter. I’m actually thinking about quitting it,” she said. “I have a lot of followers on there, and it’s been an incredible platform to talk to people and read the news and everything. But definitely in the past year since the pandemic, it’s become a noticeably more darker, uglier place, even in the cesspool of what social media has always been.”
When exactly is she planning to go? Probably later this month, in tandem with her exit from “The View.”
“So, stay tuned. When I leave the show, I may quit Twitter the same day,” McCain concluded.
You can watch McCain’s full comments in the video above.
