3 climate hecklers ejected for disrupting Ted Cruz on 'The View'

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, centre right, with co-hosts, from left, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin during an appearance on the daytime talk show 'The View,' on Oct. 24, 2022. (Lou Rocco / ABC via AP)

NEW YORK — Three hecklers were hustled off "The View" set on Monday after disrupting a live television interview of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz with what appeared to be a climate change protest.

Two women began shouting "Cover climate now" while the Texas Republican was answering a question. He briefly paused, smiled and then continued talking as the women shouted, most of it indecipherable to a television audience.

"Ladies, ladies, excuse us," host Whoopi Goldberg said when Cruz stopped. "Let us do our job. We hear what you have to say but you've got to go."

The shouting ended after less than a minute after the women, who were not seen on television, were apparently ejected.

But as the segment headed into a commercial break, a third woman yelled out a comment that was bleeped out for the TV audience.

When the show returned from the commercial, host Ana Navarro apologized to Cruz.

"I'm sorry that this has happened in our house," she said.

The ABC daytime show, which just began its 26th season, has seen its share of hostility among on-air hosts through the years. But it's the first time in memory that it has seen such a demonstration by people in its small studio audience.