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Abby Huntsman, left, and Meghan McCain, right, are seen sitting at the desk on "The View."
- Abby Huntsman announced Monday that she was leaving "The View" to help her father run for governor in Utah.
- After the announcement, CNN Business published a report based on interviews with half a dozen people who said part of the reason Huntsman left was co-panelist Meghan McCain.
- Some of the sources said that McCain recently confronted Huntsman for being insensitive to her fertility struggles by bringing up her kids on air.
- McCain suggested that the report was sexist, telling Insider that she doesn't think "CNN would cover a story about men this way."
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Abby Huntsman, one of the two Republican women on "The View," announced she was leaving the show on Monday to help her father campaign for Utah governor.
Hours later, CNN Business published a story based on interviews with half a dozen people who said part of the reason Huntsman was leaving was because of tensions with fellow conservative panelist Meghan McCain.
Some of the sources who spoke to CNN said Huntsman and McCain were friends until a recent confrontation over Huntsman bringing up her children on air.
McCain is said to have pulled her aside after one episode and suggested it was insensitive to talk about her family when McCain has struggled to have kids, something she wrote about in a New York Times op-ed this last summer.
"Abby was sick of being berated by Meghan for perceived slights," one of the sources told CNN. "She ultimately decided she didn't need this job and it wasn't worth it."
Three of the sources said Huntsman and McCain eventually made up, but that when Huntsmen let ABC News executives know she was leaving last week, she cited a toxic work environment.
McCain suggested in a statement to Insider that the report was sexist in nature.
"I find it hard to believe that CNN would cover a story about men this way," McCain's statement said. "Abby has been my friend for years and will always be my friend. I love her and her family very much."
Huntsman declined to comment but a person close to her said the decision was about family and that "Meghan was always a good friend" and "will always be."
When we reached out to "The View" for comment, they referred us to their original statement to CNN Business: "We have an incredible panel of smart, dynamic women at 'The View,' who bring tremendous passion and a strong point of view to the show every day. They can discuss difficult issues and debate both sides fiercely and then agree to disagree and return to the table for the next hot topic. There has always been a fascination with the behind-the-scenes at the show since the show began, but they do a tough job by going out there every day to share their opinions and beliefs on live TV."
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- Donald Trump Jr.'s wild interview on 'The View' went off the rails while he tweeted attacks on the show's hosts
- Whoopi Goldberg cuts to commercial after getting into a heated exchange with Meghan McCain for cutting people off on 'The View'
- Pamela Anderson and Meghan McCain clashed over whether Julian Assange is 'a cyberterrorist' on 'The View'
