When my son, Colby, and I appeared on The View a few months ago about Date My Single Kid, I sat next to Joy Behar and liked her spunk. I even wrote a complimentary blog about her that day.
I’ve changed my opinion. First, I learned that she made an offhand, snide comment about me at the end of the show when the ladies were milling around. My brother-in-law taped the whole show and heard her say: “That mother!” Joy was obviously disgusted by me for creating DMSK so moms could help their kids find mates.
Joy and Bill
But the real reason I no longer think Joy is a joy is because she’s sanctimonious and classless. Her recent epithet against Sharron Angle, who is running as a Republican for US Senate in Nevada, was distasteful. And what was the point of storming off the show when Bill O’Reilly accused Muslims of 911? Does she storm out of her own home when a guest says something she doesn’t like? O’Reilly is an idiot and Sharron is no bargain, but barging out is immature.
I guess Joy forgot the name of the show. If she disagrees with someone’s point of view, isn’t she supposed to give hers intelligently, if not forcefully? Leaving the set and using the b-word against a fellow FOF are acts of an angry person. Come to think of it, Joy’s comedy shtick is pretty angry most of the time.
Joy’s joylessness is a big bore!
0 Responses to “J(oy)!”
Claire Kennedy says:
I think all of this is for the sake of ratings – actions, words, thoughts – anything to get ratings. That’s the part I do not like about all of this.
The unfortunate thing here is that even a civil discussion – albeit from differing views – is not considered nearly as good TV as Joy storming off the set, treating people irreverently or disrespectfully. Wonder what it would take to get that back on TV – There’s the real dilemma!
One of the challenges, I think, in terms of looking at talk shows like The View, is that the hosts KNOW who is going to be on the show. They have people who go out looking for interesting and controversial people to have on their shows because it makes for ‘better television’. It’s not as if the ladies at the table had never heard of Bill O’Reilly before, that he was some sort of non-entity. Anyone who thought that O’Reilly would come on The View and say polite things about the ladies’ dresses or the weather was living in a fantasy world. If they’d invited Keith Olberman, Glenn Beck, Howard Stern, or even Craig Ferguson onto the show, they’d have had the same issue: someone who is paid to have strong and perhaps inflammatory opinions on politics and culture and who is paid very good money to open his yapper and say it…. and not get slapped for it. It’s not as if O’Reilly has not expressed this opinion before – the ladies should have been ready for him to express just that opinion (and O’Reilly was actually offensive about it; as I recall, he interrupted Joy Behar and told her to ‘shut up; you might learn something.’ Not exactly what I’d call ‘good guest behavior’). I think there are a couple of things going on here. First, Joy Behar is going to be sensitized to any comments about people from the Middle East. The last name she goes by, “Behar” is, I think, Middle Eastern (Lebanese, I think, but let’s not split hairs). Her daughter goes by the same last name. Her maiden name is Occhiuto; her family is from Italy and she grew up in Brooklyn. I think we can be fairly sure that she’s pretty sensitive to any circumstance where someone tries to lump everyone from a certain country, ethnic or religious group in with a certain subset of that country, ethnic or religious group who has a negative reputation. But part of being a mature adult is recognizing what your ‘hot buttons’ are and being prepared to deal with them. She’s theoretically a professional; she should have been able to handle this without doing what she did. By stomping out, she did not ‘win’; as a matter of fact, for some people, I’m sure she just reinforced a rather negative stereotype of women, “see, she couldn’t control herself; women are just too emotional for this sort of work.”
She could have prepared herself with questions and material; she could have argued O’Reilly to a standstill. Instead, she decided to get offended.
One of the real dangerous issues that we have in this country right now is actually illustrated by what happened on that show: People only want to talk to people who agree with them; no one wants to engage anyone else who disagrees with them. The more we do this, the more isolated we become and the more we demonize people who have beliefs that are different from our own. And saying, “You’re stupid!” doesn’t give us the chance to show the other side. The sooner we all realize that both sides have to engage, in order to keep this the UNITED States of America, the sooner things are going to start cooling off and we will start being able to make some progress on important things like jobs, healthcare and the economy.
Joy(less) described an Angle campaign ad as “a Hitler Youth commercial” and DARED Angle to “do this ad in the South Bronx” but Joy(less) ran away from O’Reilly on her own show. What is Joy(less) insinuating about the South Bronx anyway? Angle ran the ad in Nevada and she’s still standing (actually climbing in the polls). Joy(less) would have to run again if she called any FOF a “b*tch” or a “moron” in the South Bronx or Winnemucca, NV.
I believe you may have misread my statement. I dislike Sharron Angle and Bill O’Reilly as well. And I know the difference between law-abiding Muslims and extremists. I was commenting on Behar storming off the show because of what he said v. arguing with him.
I have no opinion about Joy, but I do have an opinion about Sharron Angle, Bill O’Reilly and those who cannot differentiate between the extremists responsible for 9/11 and law-abiding Muslims who are NOT terrorists . I think I am going to unsubscribe from your blog.
0 Responses to “J(oy)!”
Claire Kennedy says:
I think all of this is for the sake of ratings – actions, words, thoughts – anything to get ratings. That’s the part I do not like about all of this.
The unfortunate thing here is that even a civil discussion – albeit from differing views – is not considered nearly as good TV as Joy storming off the set, treating people irreverently or disrespectfully. Wonder what it would take to get that back on TV – There’s the real dilemma!
Toby Wollin says:
One of the challenges, I think, in terms of looking at talk shows like The View, is that the hosts KNOW who is going to be on the show. They have people who go out looking for interesting and controversial people to have on their shows because it makes for ‘better television’. It’s not as if the ladies at the table had never heard of Bill O’Reilly before, that he was some sort of non-entity. Anyone who thought that O’Reilly would come on The View and say polite things about the ladies’ dresses or the weather was living in a fantasy world. If they’d invited Keith Olberman, Glenn Beck, Howard Stern, or even Craig Ferguson onto the show, they’d have had the same issue: someone who is paid to have strong and perhaps inflammatory opinions on politics and culture and who is paid very good money to open his yapper and say it…. and not get slapped for it. It’s not as if O’Reilly has not expressed this opinion before – the ladies should have been ready for him to express just that opinion (and O’Reilly was actually offensive about it; as I recall, he interrupted Joy Behar and told her to ‘shut up; you might learn something.’ Not exactly what I’d call ‘good guest behavior’). I think there are a couple of things going on here. First, Joy Behar is going to be sensitized to any comments about people from the Middle East. The last name she goes by, “Behar” is, I think, Middle Eastern (Lebanese, I think, but let’s not split hairs). Her daughter goes by the same last name. Her maiden name is Occhiuto; her family is from Italy and she grew up in Brooklyn. I think we can be fairly sure that she’s pretty sensitive to any circumstance where someone tries to lump everyone from a certain country, ethnic or religious group in with a certain subset of that country, ethnic or religious group who has a negative reputation. But part of being a mature adult is recognizing what your ‘hot buttons’ are and being prepared to deal with them. She’s theoretically a professional; she should have been able to handle this without doing what she did. By stomping out, she did not ‘win’; as a matter of fact, for some people, I’m sure she just reinforced a rather negative stereotype of women, “see, she couldn’t control herself; women are just too emotional for this sort of work.”
She could have prepared herself with questions and material; she could have argued O’Reilly to a standstill. Instead, she decided to get offended.
One of the real dangerous issues that we have in this country right now is actually illustrated by what happened on that show: People only want to talk to people who agree with them; no one wants to engage anyone else who disagrees with them. The more we do this, the more isolated we become and the more we demonize people who have beliefs that are different from our own. And saying, “You’re stupid!” doesn’t give us the chance to show the other side. The sooner we all realize that both sides have to engage, in order to keep this the UNITED States of America, the sooner things are going to start cooling off and we will start being able to make some progress on important things like jobs, healthcare and the economy.
AZ says:
Joy(less) described an Angle campaign ad as “a Hitler Youth commercial” and DARED Angle to “do this ad in the South Bronx” but Joy(less) ran away from O’Reilly on her own show. What is Joy(less) insinuating about the South Bronx anyway? Angle ran the ad in Nevada and she’s still standing (actually climbing in the polls). Joy(less) would have to run again if she called any FOF a “b*tch” or a “moron” in the South Bronx or Winnemucca, NV.
Geri says:
Dear Sara,
I believe you may have misread my statement. I dislike Sharron Angle and Bill O’Reilly as well. And I know the difference between law-abiding Muslims and extremists. I was commenting on Behar storming off the show because of what he said v. arguing with him.
Best,
Geri
Sara says:
I have no opinion about Joy, but I do have an opinion about Sharron Angle, Bill O’Reilly and those who cannot differentiate between the extremists responsible for 9/11 and law-abiding Muslims who are NOT terrorists . I think I am going to unsubscribe from your blog.