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Abby Huntsman (left) announced her departure from The View talk show on Monday, Jan. 13. She said she quit the show to join her father's gubernatorial campaign.
But a source tells Page Six the real reason for her abrupt departure was the simmering tension between Meghan McCain (right) and her fellow co-hosts.
"It's an unhealthy environment - just the way that things are handled during shows and how people deal with each other," said the insider. "It's intense."
The source continued: "Abby made an issue [to executives] about the overall environment. She's felt for a while that things had to change. ABC treated Abby like s--t, but everyone on the show gets treated like --t. She was smart enough to do something about it."
The insider said longtime co-host Whoopi Goldberg has also complained about the negative environment created by McCain on the set.
A second insider said that Huntsman described the environment as "toxic."
According to Page Six, Huntsman joined The View a year ago, around the same time McCain was hired.
But Huntsman made her decision to quit in December after seeing how McCain treated the other co-hosts.
"None of the ladies talk to Meghan now," a source told Page Six. "Abby was the last woman standing. It's bad. Meghan's so rude."
