'The View' descends into chaos after GOP candidate Kim Klacik brings up Joy Behar's 'African woman' Halloween costume
On Friday on The View, a par-for-the-course feisty interview took a turn, after Republican Congressional candidate Kim Klacik of Maryland brought up an old, controversial photo of co-host Joy Behar.
The incident occurred after Behar criticized Klacik — who is a steadfast defender of President Donald Trump — for defending his response to the coronavirus pandemic. “Talk to the point, please,” Behar said, after Klacik parried the question. Instead, she changed the subject.
“Is this Joy speaking?” Klacik asked. “The same Joy that paraded around in blackface not too long ago? Come on, Joy, I don’t think you should be asking these questions.”
Klacik is referring to a Halloween outfit Behar wore nearly 50 years ago. In 2016 on The View, Behar said she went as a “beautiful African woman” when she was 29 years old and admitted to tinting her skin with makeup.
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
On Friday’s episode, Behar defended herself, saying to Klacik, “excuse me, the Black community had my back. They know that that was not blackface, that was an homage.”
But after Klacik responded with “the Black community has my back as well,” co-host Sunny Hostin jumped into the mix.
“The Black community has your back? The Black community did not vote for you,” Hostin said to Klacik, incredulously. “What planet are you from? What planet are you living on?”
Hostin’s spit-take is due to the fact that, in 2019, Klacic ran for office in a special election in Maryland after the death of representative Elijah Cummings. She lost to her Democratic opponent and only received 25 percent of the vote.
Throughout the spat, co-hosts Sara Haines, guest co-host Ana Navarro, and co-host Meghan McCain mostly remained quiet, although at one point McCain interjected, “Can we all be respectful, please?”
Following her cut-off appearance on The View, Klacik took to Twitter to ask, “Why are they silencing Black women?” and accused Behar of white privilege.
The ladies of @TheView didn’t like what I had to say, so naturally they cut me off.
Why are they silencing Black Women?
Hey, @JoyVBehar — I think your White Privilege is showing through your blackface! pic.twitter.com/d39hPOAPOV— Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) September 18, 2020
She also retweeted supportive tweets from Donald Trump Jr. and Megyn Kelly. In her tweet, Kelly alluded to a past incident, in 2018, during which she seemed to defend using blackface in Halloween costumes. Following that comment, her NBC program, Megyn Kelly Today was canceled and she later apologized.
So... I’m pretty sure that saying skin tinting to look like a Black woman - even if meant to honor her -is not OK, & warning: could lead to serious backlash. In fact, just suggesting that intent is relevant could lead to pieces on GMA, all eve news, in the NYT, etc. We’ll see... https://t.co/KOa97AX6g7
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) September 18, 2020
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