‘The View’ host under fire for blackface costume (VIDEO)
A clip from ABC's popular chat show ‘The View’ has resurfaced amid the ongoing media uproar over blackface costumes. It shows the panel discussing host Joy Behar’s “beautiful African woman” costume.
Behar introduced a photo of herself in an old Halloween costume where she dressed as a “beautiful African woman” at a Halloween party in the 1970s when she was 29 years old, in a segment in which the panel were discussing curly hair which aired back in 2016.
Amid the current media firestorm over blackface costumes worn by Democrat politicians in the past, The Wrap media editor Jon Levine seized the moment and shared the controversial clip (and the reaction to it) on Twitter.
Joy Behar admitted during a taping of The View in 2016 to dressing as a “beautiful African women” at a Halloween party when she was 29 which involved makeup “that was a little bit darker than my skin”The show even ran an image of the old photo pic.twitter.com/qKQqzDPxyn
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) February 6, 2019
In the segment, Raven-Symoné, a former co-host of Behar’s, asks, “Joy, are you black?” to which Behar responded that she was wearing makeup “a little bit darker than my skin.”
Neither ABC nor Behar have made an official statement on the current controversy.
Many people on Twitter came to Behar’s defense after the clip emerged.
I hate joy behar as much as the next man. Its actually a flattering photo. I don't see any reason to freak out.
— Amiri King (@AmiriKing) February 7, 2019
The standard for blackface has always included a certain level of mockery. Behar’s photo doesn’t meet that standard. If she wore that today, she’d definitely get the side eye, but it’s not blackface.
— Sierramoon (@Sierramoon) February 7, 2019
C'mon everyone, are we really this petty?She admired a look that was hip & popular at the time, and thus emulated it. Seems perfectly ok & normal. This is why context matters and anti-cultural appropriation is BS.
— 𝟙𝟛ẗḧ𝔊𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔯𝔞𝔩 🕹️🤖 (@iamshawnjones) February 6, 2019
One of these things is not like the other...Don't try to act like black people should be just as offended by the left photo, Joy Behar, as we are by the foolishness on the right.We know the difference between admiration and racist mockery. pic.twitter.com/5jZr83dTLQ
— Aaron Winder (@Strawmelade) February 7, 2019
However, others decried the hypocrisy of such comments, highlighting the case of Megyn Kelly who was unceremoniously fired from NBC after controversial remarks where she questioned whether blackface was indeed that offensive.
I tend to agree. But its the left who have set the standards. Megan Kelly was fired for merely suggesting its ok. So in order to apply those standards fairly Behar has got to be fired as well.
— Frank T Hopkins (@FrankTHopkins1) February 7, 2019
Yet Megyn Kelly was FIRED for simply asking why it was offensive if you ADMIRE the person you’re dressing up as?? Where’s your condemnation on this @alroker ? “Whew, Joy is on a dif network, so I don’t have to comment”
— Kim Greer (@KimberlyKateGre) February 7, 2019
The hypocracy is strong with this one...
— 🇺🇸 SparHawk (@SparHawk1776) February 7, 2019
Megyn Kelly suggested that putting on dark makeup while dressing as a black person you admire may be okay. Joy Behar actually wore the costume. Kelly should be fired for suggesting it but Behar did nothing wrong in actually doing it? That's totally incoherent. https://t.co/jWuFK4hGks
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 7, 2019
The clip was posted as the Democratic party in Virginia grapples with the ongoing controversy surrounding Governor Ralph Northam's 1984 yearbook photo which features two students, one in blackface and the other in a KKK robe.
Northam initially apologized for the ill-advised costume choice but then reversed course the very next day, insisting that he misremembered and didn't wear blackface in that particular photo but had worn it when dressing up as Michael Jackson on another occasion.
Also on rt.com Virginia governor admits to KKK/blackface yearbook photo, refuses to resignMeanwhile, Virginia's Democrat Attorney General Mark Herring, who initially called on Northam to resign, has since released a statement in which he admitted that he too had worn a blackface costume in college.
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