People Joy Behar Can't Stand

This feature references mass violence and hate crimes.

Pick a target, any target. If it's a luminary skewing to the right of the political spectrum, there's a good chance Joy Behar has squinted at that individual through the proverbial crosshairs of her ballistic wit on the ABC daytime talk show, "The View." An original panelist on the show, Behar has arguably always been the most vocal. With so many bones to pick with so many news-making celebrities, it's a wonder forensics have found any skeletal remains at the scenes of her attacks. An unabashed left-winger, Behar's gone after folks from Republicans and their supporters to anti-abortionists, anti-vaxxers, anti-feminists ... and pretty much anyone who's on her list of deplorables. 

Even liberals like fellow panelists Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, and Sara Haines haven't been immune from Behar's venomous volleys. Some former co-hosts have even blamed her swipes at colleagues for their departure from the show. Still, former president Donald Trump remains a favorite Behar bulls-eye, given the barrage of insults she's thrown on-air at the transplanted Floridian, and subsequent, less-than-cordial exchanges between the two. At 80 years old, as of this writing, Behar has lost none of her feisty demeanor, which ABC is undoubtedly counting on after inking the outspoken comedian to another deal that will keep her on "The View" until 2025. In that time, we're sure that Behar will continue taking shots at celebrities who don't jibe with her political and social stripes — a few of her fave targets are listed here.

If Joy Behar has an enemies list, odds are most of the entries would have some association with Fox News. Speaking about the former news outlet's former star pundit, Glenn Beck, she's said, "I think that he is frequently ridiculous." Meanwhile, on Twitter in 2021, she wrote about primetime host, Sean Hannity, "[He] is like the guy you don't want to go on a second date with." But Behar has arguably dedicated much of her modern vitriol to Tucker Carlson. Fox's most popular op-ed star in the cable news sphere has often been taken to task by outlets like The New York Times for his purported support of white nationalism.

Such discussion was only exacerbated in May 2022, when a Buffalo teen who shot more than a dozen people in a store was found to have reportedly kept a manifesto reflecting Carlson's perspectives on critical race theory, per Vanity Fair. Behar believed the mainstream media should curb coverage of Carlson's soliloquies. "Just ignore him," she said on "The View." "Every time we talk about him, every time the media gives him air time, he gets bigger and bigger." Her jab came on the heels of another contentious Carlson declaration, this time involving his seemingly initial support for Russian President, Vladimir Putin who spearheaded the country's invasion of Ukraine. "I hope he's planning to move to Moscow, because he's not gonna be welcome here for much longer," Behar retorted on "The View." 

If you have been impacted by incidents of mass violence, or are experiencing emotional distress related to incidents of mass violence, you can call or text Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 for support.

If you or a loved one has experienced a hate crime, contact the VictimConnect Hotline by phone at 1-855-4-VICTIM or by chat for more information or assistance in locating services to help. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

Actor and director, Clint Eastwood deserves kudos for a film output that's netted him four Oscars, but his 2019 biopic, "Richard Jewell," drew plenty of scorn, especially from Joy Behar. The movie chronicled the circumstances of Jewell, whose discovery of a pack containing pipe bombs during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta likely contributed to saving several lives, although one other explosive killed 2 people. It also contained one scene where a journalist pries valuable information about an investigation on Jewell ꟷ suspected by police of planting the bombs ꟷ by having sex with an FBI agent. The problem? That scene allegedly didn't happen in real life and the reporter who broke the story had since died, making her unavailable to refute the contentious plotline (per CBC). 

"Even after you're dead, they go after you," lamented Behar on "The View" (via mrcTV) about the fake scene in the movie. Her co-hosts added that the reporter was no longer around to defend herself concerning that cinematic portrayal. Behar went further, citing the Watergate film, "All the President's Men," as being akin to a historical document. "This is another sort of historical document of that situation and it's not accurate," she said about the Eastwood flick. "It's outrageous, really, when you think about it and Clint Eastwood should be ashamed of himself." What the movie got right was that the media incorrectly implicated Jewell as the bomber until authorities caught the actual perpetrator weeks later. 

Fans of "The View" can attest that Joy Behar has no qualms about taking on anyone who gets her dander up and co-hosts are no exception to her fiery wit. One person subject to her verbose venom was Elisabeth Hasselbeck, a devout Republican. One 2008 episode featured Behar making a case for terrorists to be treated as civilians in criminal court, a suggestion that immediately upset Hasselbeck. "What? Like our civilians? They should never be treated like our civilians!" Hasselback shot back. She then mocked Behar by retorting, "Oh those poor little terrorists, they need a home!" The two exchanged fireworks for a few seconds before guest panelist, Jeanine Pirro settled the combative duo down. 

Abortion has also been a hot-button issue between the two, with Hasselbeck staunchly condemning the pro-choice movement, a position that frequently raised Behar's ire. A 2009 episode had Hasselbeck pushing a what-if scenario of the untapped potential of a fetus. "Who knows if that baby could have been our President of the United States one day," she argued. Behar jabbed back, "It could have been Hitler, also. You never know!"

The issue remained hot in 2022 when the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, tying in with Hasselbach's brief return to "The View." As the only anti-abortionist on the show, she admitted that Christianity could offer more mercy and less judgment to women experiencing a crisis. To which Behar retorted, "When you are prohibiting something, you are, in fact, judging them" (per Decider).

Over the years, Joy Behar has made it obvious she has little patience for the scene-stealing Kardashians. She can't even mention them without shaking her head or rolling her eyes, especially when America's most famous family likes to air out its more dysfunctional laundry in public. In early 2022, one juicy news item discussed among "The View" co-hosts included Khloe Kardashian's ex-fiance, Tristan Thompson, admitting to fathering a child whose mother planned to sue the hoopster for child support. "These are psychological issues," Behar noted during the episode. "I don't think the Kardashians are keeping up with the therapy."

Behar was even more brutal on Caitlyn Jenner in 2016. The former Olympian upstaged her daughter, Kendall Jenner's upcoming modeling stint at a Victoria's Secret fashion show by alerting the press to her attendance. "This is why the terrorists hate us, I'm convinced of it," Behar quipped (via Us Magazine). "Caitlyn wants some attention too now. One narcissist in the family is enough, how many do they need?" 

In 2021, Behar questioned Caitlyn's decision to run for Governor of California — and accidentally misgendered the star in the process (she later apologized). "I think that he should, or she, rather, take a seat and let somebody with the credentials take over a major state like California," she said. Later that year, Behar snorted when Caitlyn stated she wanted to govern in the style of Donald Trump, stating, "I want to go in and be a thoughtful disruptor."

Of all the co-hosts with which Joy Behar sparred, the most formidable has been Meghan McCain, a former Fox News employee, and daughter of the late Senator John McCain. It's a pity that these two clashed frequently since they shared some common ground, namely a mutual dislike for Donald Trump. In 2018, Behar admitted she liked Trump until she determined he was a charlatan (per Daily Caller). Meanwhile, Meghan deplored the man since the former president once said of her father, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, "He's not a war hero." Beyond that, however, any other hot topic was a donnybrook waiting to happen between the two combatants.

Various episodes saw the two throw down their gauntlets over socialism, border security of states touching Mexico, the impeachment of Donald Trump, and pretty much anything that contrasted values between the left and the right. Eventually, the arguments devolved into more personal confrontations, including Meghan calling her co-host a b*tch live on-air, and Behar once telling her, "If you're going to have a hissy-fit, we can't continue." 

In January 2021, shortly after Meghan returned to the show after maternity leave and in the crest of yet another fracas, Behar remarked to the new mother, "I did not miss you." The comment floored McCain, who reportedly cried during a commercial break and vomited after the episode's final credits, per Variety. Six months later, McCain left.

Considering that Joy Behar has gone on record as someone who supports environmental initiatives to curb climate change, it's easy to assume that she may be on a similar page to Elon Musk, the co-founder and CEO of the electric vehicle company, Tesla. As it turns out, Behar is hardly sending the enterprising inventor annual Christmas greetings. "He's a self-important bore," Behar ruefully stated about Musk on "The View" in 2022. Granted, the remark wasn't about environmentalism, but a response to Musk's declaration that the pandemic had subsided enough to warrant his employees to stop working from home and get back to the company offices for their weekly 40-hour grind. 

"Let him go into space," added Behar, referencing Musk's more emission-spewing SpaceX venture. "I test-drove a Tesla one time, I was scared of the car. I'm scared of that car. It goes ba-boom, and it's got a computer and I got a panic attack in that car, number one. Number two, people need to go back to work because where else are you going to meet somebody?"

After Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, Behar was far less insulting. Still, she had her doubts about the entrepreneur's commitment to free speech without turning the social media site into what he called a hellscape. "Really?" asked a dubious Behar. "I mean, it's pretty close to that now, isn't it? So is he going to do anything to fix that?"

Long before the likes of Shawn Hannity and Tucker Carlson dominated the primetime roster at Fox News, Bill O'Reilly was the ultimate right-wing pundit at the channel, holding court and dominating cable news ratings in his own self-described no-spin zone. But the pontification that his following would eagerly eat up every weeknight didn't exactly stick in the craws of "The View" co-hosts, especially when they invited O'Reilly for a hot-seat session on a 2017 episode. 

It didn't take long before the seats started to smolder when O'Reilly declared that 70% of Americans objected to a mosque being built within the vicinity of where the World Trade Center used to be, prompting a furious Behar to question the legitimacy of such a report. Then came the kicker when O'Reilly declared, "Muslims killed us on 9/11." Almost immediately, all hell broke loose when Behar and Goldberg attempted to correct O'Reilly's generalized statement, by insisting it was extremists behind the attack. Amongst the raging din, the two unleashed their disdain for the Fox pundit's opinion, including some bleeped verbosity. Behar then left the stage, followed by Goldberg. 

After the dust had settled, Barbara Walters, the show's creator and ringmaster let it be known that she was hardly happy with how the vacating panel had acted, stating to the audience, "You have just seen what should not happen." Only after O'Reilly reluctantly apologized did the rest of the co-hosts return.

It goes without saying that magistrates presiding in a U.S. court follow a decree that everyone is equal under the law. But in 2021, according to Joy Behar, the Fox News personality, Jeanine Pirro no longer pays attention to that edict. On an episode of "The View," Behar attacked the former judge for statements she'd made on "The Five," an op-ed show on Fox News, concerning the children of immigrants. Repeating that Pirro had made the statement, "These kids are a lower level of human being," the panelist complained, "I mean we're going into some weird territory here when you say something about another human being like that, Jeanine. I used to know you, I used to like you. What the hell is going on with you?"

On her own Fox News show, Pirro pounced on Behar's statements by suggesting her comments had been taken out of context. Describing her visits to towns bordering Mexico, she claimed to have heard from locals that human trafficking cartels smuggle children into the U.S. where they are treated as lower-level people. "The children ultimately become slaves to the cartel," she added. 

But Pirro saved her body slam for the end, after talking about the organizations she founded to curb domestic violence and the perpetrators she put away while on the bench. Taking aim at Behar, she urged, "Have the courage to step off your comedy club stage and do something that matters, that makes a difference!"

Anecdotally, it may be safe to say that Joy Behar has often instigated many of her conflicts with other celebrities, and is rarely the target of a personality launching a first-strike initiative against her. But music wildman, Kid Rock launched such an attack with a swipe at the talk-show luminary during a 2018 "Fox and Friends" interview. Beginning with a rant about political correctness, the "Bawitdaba" performer finished with a double-edged plea, "I would say love everybody, except, I'd say screw that Joy Behar b*tch."

On "The View", the semi-articulate remark surprised Behar, who never had the rocker on her radar. "Well, all I can say is, this b*tch and these b*tches will be happy to have you on the show and have a beer," she said with only a subtle vibe of retaliation. Still, Rock's ramblings puzzled the panelist. "What is it about me that he needs to say that, though?" she asked. "Who am I? I'm just a comedian on a show." 

A year later, the tirades continued when TMZ shared a video of a seemingly drunk Rock blasting expletives about Behar and Oprah Winfrey at his bar in Nashville. When interviewed by Tucker Carlson as part of a series of specials recorded to stream on Fox Nation (via Entertainment Weekly), he remained unrepentant about his comments, stating, "A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts, I own what I said ... I don't apologize to anybody."

Ever since 2020, few topics have been as divisive as COVID-19 vaccinations during the pandemic. On "The View" in 2021, the cast discussed CNN science contributor, Dr. Sanjay Gupta's appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience." Vaccine advocate, Joy Behar didn't seem afraid to lump Joe Rogan in with the millions of vaccine deniers across America, whom she described as, "People who are still too thickheaded to listen to science and get the damn shot." Addressing the popular podcaster's influential insistence that he would not get the COVID-19 vaccine, she retorted, "Yes, let's listen to a radio talk show host instead of a scientist and a doctor."

Even after Rogan apologized for any misinformation he may have provided on his podcast related to COVID-19 and vaccines, Behar didn't buy any of it. "Hasn't he been also chastised and corrected, and then he just goes back to his craziness again?" mused Behar on one episode. "I mean, I don't know that he can be reformed." Granted, Rogan's apology surfaced on the heels of artists like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young pulling their music from his podcast publisher, Spotify. While those decisions may have caused the streaming giant to lose up to $4 billion in market value, Behar was disappointed that more acts didn't follow suit. "This would have been a good opportunity to show what you believe in, and I didn't see it," she said. 

Joy Behar doesn't have anything against drag queen, RuPaul these days, but in 1997, she probably didn't like being pilloried by the celeb during an episode of "The View" That day, the "RuPaul's Drag Race" host showed up in full regalia, from a flowing-red evening gown to a stratosphere-scraping blowout wig, and chose to criticize Behar's comparatively less feminine appearance. The panelist retorted, "Excuse me, you're calling me butch? Honey, but you're a b*tch!" Laughing, Rupaul recoiled with a feline wail and a denial that the remark wasn't intended to be mean. The drag superstar then followed said denial up by delivering a screechy imitation of Behar that sounded like mating sandpaper. 

The topic then shifted to Behar's wardrobe, particularly her slacks, which didn't get the RuPaul seal of approval. Behar fired back, "Do you think that I'm going to take fashion advice from a drag queen?" That's when RuPaul set up Behar for the sucker punch, "Listen, Joy, you'd better take it from somebody!" If that was a catfight, it was relatively tame compared to the succession of horn-locking Behar would undertake in the years to come. Still, the confrontation was legendary enough for Queerty to revive it in a 2022 article online, reporting that the two had since settled their differences. 

For years, Joy Behar has had it in for Donald Trump, going way back to the days when the high-profile real estate developer was trying to put his name on virtually every building in Manhattan. But when he hit White House paydirt in 2016, Behar had tons of ammunition to go ballistic on the man. "I think that this show really took a change when Trump got in, 'cause we used to have more laughs before he got into office," said Behar during a "View" reunion episode (per Fox News). 

The former president's takes on immigration, abortion, and the media, as well as incidents that include two impeachments, a porn star affair, and an insurrection in the wake of his presidential election loss in 2020 all provided fodder for Behar to bash the controversial statesman with both barrels blazing. At one point, Behar even went so far as to state, "He has the nerve to call anybody a domestic terrorist — he's the domestic terrorist." However, she quickly retracted the label. 

On the lighter side, Behar was quick to comment on the disheveled state of Trump's slacks at a 2021 political rally. "'He has nobody he can go to for some cash to get some better pants?" she mused. "And where's Melania? She's not ironing them anymore?" A year later, Behar took aim at his former Twitter feed with a swipe that somehow made it past the censors when she said, "[His] previous tweets were all dumb sh*t-stuff!" (per Mediaite).

While Donald Trump hasn't had much to say about Joy Behar's rants against him, his son, Donald Trump Jr. has been particularly brutal about the panelist. In November 2019 with fiancee, Kimberley Guilfoyle as his arm candy, he appeared on "The View," ready to promote a book he recently wrote and to take on the co-hosts — Behar in particular. 

When she squared off against the controversial guest regarding his father's questionable political discourse, Don Jr. shot back. "We've all done things that we regret if we're talking about bringing discourse down," he said to Behar. "Joy, you've worn blackface." A shocked Behar denied the allegation but was drowned out by the rest of the panel, which turned out to be one of the more animated skirmishes in the show's history. To be fair, earlier that year she'd stated that she'd once celebrated Halloween during the '70s dressed as an African woman. But with millions watching, Dom Jr.'s comment must have felt like a sizzling brand on her forehead.

More recently, he took particular glee in skewering Behar, who had suggested that women enact a sex strike to prevent the Supreme Court from overturning Roe v. Wade. On Instagram, he posted a meme of the star and suggested that such an action led by her and her fellow "View" panelists wouldn't work. "Quite candidly, I imagine it will do the opposite," he added.