An Old Photo Of ‘The View’s’ Joy Behar Dressed As A ‘Beautiful African Woman’ Resurfaces On Twitter
The Wrap‘s media editor, Jon Levine, shared an old clip of The View star Joy Behar from 2016 on Twitter where the longtime show commentator was seen discussing the merits of curly hair. She shared with her fellow panelists a photo of herself at the age of 29 with her real curls and dressed as a “beautiful African woman” for Halloween.
Her fellow panelists joked at the photo, leading former co-host Raven-Symone to quip, “Joy, are you black?”
“I was so cute,” Behar said, to which Symone countered, “Joy… are you my auntie, Joy?”
No one on the panel seemed offended by the photo shown in the video, where Behar stated that she “used makeup a little darker than my skin for the costume.” In the photo, Behar is seen wearing a dress and earrings. She is alone in the photo and there is nothing to suggest she was doing anything improper.
Page Six reported the story. It was unclear as to why the media editor of The Wrap shared the video, as it was not featured on the Wrap‘s official website.
Levine also shared a post from the original story that Behar referenced in the piece, which was reported by the New York Times, titled “In Praise of Curly Hair.” The Twitter thread that followed ran the gamut of both negative and positive comments towards the longtime View commentator.
Joy Behar explains why she dressed as ‘beautiful African woman’ in resurfaced clip from 2016 https://t.co/PkhZFCcTH1 pic.twitter.com/Pm6xDPoALN
— New York Post (@nypost) February 7, 2019
Page Six noted that this clip resurfaced on the heels of several prominent Democrats from Virginia who were questioned regarding their choice of using blackface as a costume choice. Gov. Ralph Northam was seen in his 1984 medical school yearbook in blackface and Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring admitted to dressing like “a rapper” in 1980 during his days as a student at The University of Virginia, reported the New York Post.
Behar just celebrated 20 years on The View. In 2010 she was interviewed by the New York Times for an editorial piece covering her life and career. Behar gave up a career as a teacher after five years to become a stand-up comedienne at nearly 40-years-old. She was hired by Barbara Walters as one of the original panelists of The View in 1997 after Walters saw her perform at Milton Berle’s 89th birthday tribute, the New York Times reported.
Behar remains the only original panelist left on the series, as she shares the show’s table with host and moderator Whoopi Goldberg, Abby Huntsman, Meghan McCain, and Sunny Hostin. Behar has not yet addressed the Twitter post publicly.
The View airs weekdays on ABC.
