Why hasn't Whoopi Goldberg been on "The View" for more than a month? She was recovering from a serious bout of pneumonia, she revealed today.

The 63-year-old co-host shared the news via a videotaped message on the daytime talk show. "I am here; I am up and moving around," said Goldberg. Not as fast as I'd like to be, but I am OK. I'm not dead."

The actress said that she had been battling "septic pneumonia" in both lungs. "I came very, very close to leaving the Earth," she said. "Good news: I didn't."

She thanked everyone for the well wishes sent to her during recovery. And she joked that because of her health scare, "even people who are not huge fans of mine, they've actually said nice things about me. We all know that's gonna change when I get back. But for right now, it's brilliant."

"Ladies, I cannot wait to see y'all," Goldberg said to her co-hosts. "This has been interesting, and I'll tell you all about it when we're all at the table."

She didn't say when we can expect her back on the show.

Her absence, which coincided with the lead-up to the host-less Oscars, led to rumors that she -- the only previous Oscar host listed among the presenters this year -- was going to secretly be hosting. She didn't even present, as it turned out.

And the show was opened by "SNL" alums Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.

[Via The Wrap]