A video clip showing “The View” co-host Joy Behar dressed up as an African woman has resurfaced in recent days as controversy continues to swirl around Gov. Ralph Northam (D-Va.), who has admitted to wearing blackface in his past when he dressed up as Michael Jackson years ago.
A highly inappropriate photo of someone wearing blackface and someone else dressed in a KKK outfit also appeared on his medical school yearbook page from 1984 — which at first he apologized for, but now maintains he was neither of those individuals.
The clip of Behar is from an episode of “The View” years ago; it was re-shared by Jon Levine, media editor at The Wrap.
In the clip, the co-hosts are discussing a piece from The New York Times Style Magazine, which at the time was indicating that curly hair had become fashionable again.
A picture of Behar is then shown — and she’s revealed as pretending to be a black woman.
The television host said it was from a Halloween party years ago and that she was dressed as “a beautiful African woman.”
She was 29 years old in the photo; the year was 1971. Behar is 76 years old today.
“I was so cute,” Behar said in the clip.
She added, “I was 29. It was a Halloween party. I went as a beautiful African woman.”
She said she used dark makeup to help with her “costume” and that the curly hair was her own.
Check out the clip below:
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
It is not irrelevant that given today’s controversy, clips of late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel in blackface have also been making the rounds on social media.
Some people have pounced on Behar since the photo resurfaced.
Megyn Kelly was fired from her show for asking a hypothetical question about blackface. Joy Behar actually wore blackface, and admitted it, and showed a picture of it on TV, yet she still has her job. https://t.co/dIJdoMmhmz
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 7, 2019
let me see. @RalphNortham dresses up to look like Michael Jackson, get's to keep his job as governor of VA. @JoyVBehar dresses up as a "African Woman", gets to keep job. @megynkelly "says OK for people to dress in blackface at Halloween. She gets fired. Bring Back @megynkelly https://t.co/lsmfPnY7Zc
— David Keegan (@DavidKeegan19) February 7, 2019
@JoyVBehar So please tell us. Are you calling yourself beautiful in blackface? What part of your makeup makes the blackface beautiful? Which Joy!?? I guarantee you didn't describe yourself that way when you were wearing it. Maybe something a little more derogatory.
— Brian (@777oldbubba) February 7, 2019
Others are making important distinctions and qualifications for this story.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham said that accusing Behar of racism would only feed into today’s growing PC culture.
“Conservatives claiming that @JoyVBehar is racist bc of an old costume are falling into the PC Puritans’ trap. Even if she’s often unfair to conservatives — stick to basic principles of fairness,” Ingraham tweeted on Thursday morning about the Behar image.
Conservatives claiming that @JoyVBehar is racist bc of an old costume are falling into the PC Puritans’ trap. Even if she’s often unfair to conservatives—stick to basic principles of fairness.
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) February 7, 2019
Others are noting that Behar did not mock or make fun of black women by dressing up as she did.
Admittedly this “looks” bad. There is one striking difference between Joy Behar and the politicians currently in the news regarding #BlackFace photos of youth.
Behar – NOT mocking or making fun of Black Women
Politicians in Virginia & Florida – mocking & making fun of Black Men. https://t.co/liG8UIeMAF— Tanglewood_Ranch? (@StacAmberly) February 7, 2019
And others let her off the hook entirely in 2016 when that clip aired and are letting her off the hook now.
Where do you stand? Share your thoughts.
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