'The View' host Joy Behar explains her Bill O'Reilly walk off

After walking out on Bill O'Reilly on "The View," Joy Behar explained herself a bit on "The Joy Behar Show" Thursday night on Headline News. 

"Today on 'The View,' Bill O'Reilly had a real pinhead moment," Behar explained to her guest, Jesse Ventura. "First he said a mosque should not be be built close to ground zero here in New York, and then he said, 'Muslims killed us on 9/11.' Well, I was really angry, I thought that he was saying something that I construe as hate speech."

She continued: "To say Muslims killed us on 9/11, is like, you could say that about any group. To lump an entire a group like that."

Ventura -- the former pro wrestler, former Navy SEAL, former governor of Minnesota and host of "Conspiracy Theory With Jesse Ventura" who also questions whether the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were an inside job by the U.S. government -- didn't agree with Behar's hate speech interpretation, but

did invoke the Constitution and the Bill of Rights before calling O'Reilly a "spineless puke" and lumping him in with Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck as "The Three Stooges" who won't have him as a guest on their Fox News nighttime shows. (See the entire exchange in the video embedded above.)

So, that's why Behar walked out.

O'Reilly, for his part, said on his show Thursday night, "I am not in the business of sugar-coating harsh realities ... I enjoy jousting with 'The View' ladies because, with the exception of Elisabeth Hasselbeck, they don't see it my way.

"I loved that exposition today. Didn't you?"

As for Whoopi Goldberg's rationale for joining Behar's "View" exodus -- we like to imagine she just stepped out to sign a few more copies of her new book about society's current lack of civility, which is driving her crazy.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Whoopi Goldberg, left, and Joy Behar on the set of "The View" in New York in 2010. Credit: Heidi Gutman / ABC / Associated Press

Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

'The View': Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg storm off set after a religious war with Bill O'Reilly [poll]

Demi Lovato hearts Kelly Clarkson, and Bill O'Reilly hearts Demi Lovato

Bill O'Reilly slams Jennifer Aniston for no-daddy-needed remarks [poll]


 

Comments

[Michael Hamm]

Joy - pathetic. You are a prime example of why intelligent men don't want to discuss politics with stupid women. Go get your panties out of the wad they are in and dry your tears. Also - if you love the islamic culture so much - go over there and wear your habib.

[bulldog344]

didn't those ladies look really fat when they walked off?

[Patricia Schaible]

I quit watching the view when it became obvious that it was nothing more than a liberal outlet. Then when Whoopi came on board, it really tipped to one side. The actions of Joy and Whoopi were so out rageous, that I wouldn't watch another show either one was on. Shame on the producer's for such a bias show!

[Mary Rottgers]

Joy Behar needs to grow up!!!. She was NOT listening to what Bill O"Reilly was actually saying. There are always two sides to each argument and an intelligent human being will carefully listen to each argument and rationally decide which one has the stronger merits. I find her a bore with nothing to add to the discussion.

[doris porr]

Typical of the narrow minded people who represent fox news. This county as founded on freedom of religion. Not all people in a religion are guilty of the actions of some no matter what religion it is.

[Mike C]

The word is hijab. The word habib means beloved. I disagree with Joy Behar as well, but it helps to have your words right before you make an argument. Otherwise you just play into the hands of those that believe people like you, who share similar beliefs, are grossly uninformed.

[M.B. Bush]

barf

[maggie mae]

Joy is so unprofessional and the fact that she can't debate a point is so apparent. She should talk about hate speech as she's the inventor of it. Barbara Walters needs to rethink the presence of some of the "ladies" on the View. The show has gotten progressively worse over the years and needs to fade into the sunset SOON>

[johnny dangerously]

When a liberal walks off in a rage, that is supreme and undeniable testament that the liberal has been slapped upside the head with the truth. They hate the truth. Liberalism is based in lies and needs lies to stay in motion. Pity this nation has miserable slobs like Maude Behar and Whoopi Goldbrick on TV every night telling us lies upon lies upon lies. Thank God for FOX...

[Jeff]

I can explain it too. Behar doesn't like to tell the truth, but the truth is obvious. Behar hates (HATES) people who don't agree with her. O'Reilly spoke truth and it didn't fall in line with what Behar believes. Instead of being a mature adult and asking Bill to explain himself, she behaved precisely the way elite liberals behave - label it hate speech and storm off, conversation/debate over.
First of all, every single terrorist responsible for 9/11 and every single murderer on those planes was *wait for it* a muslim. It isn't hate speech to say that. Only a liberal mind would construe it as slamming ALL muslims, which Bill explained wasn't what he said or meant. O'Reilly, like most Americans, understands that extremist Muslims are the one's who perpetrated the terrorism. They are squarely to blame. Liberals don't understand that, unless you are careful to explain it to them.
Behar and Whoopi were mad because Bill isn't the sort of guy to bow to their will - he has an opinion and he is clear in stating it. He doesn't back down because some bitchy, failed, never-been-funny "comedian" disagrees with him.
Behar and Whoopi should be suspended for their actions, but won't be.
The one good thing about this show was when Walters told the viewing audience that what happened never should - people discussing things shouldn't stand up, yell, stomp their feet and walk away from each other over a disagreement. That is how children behave, not intelligent adults.
Behar is a never was who has somehow become famous and wealthy. Her opinions are ill formed and based on faulty information mixed with her 'feelings'. She knows nothing and assumes everything because she heard someone say something once.
Hasselbeck made a great point - if Obama didn't tell us to stop calling terrorists terrorists, we wouldn't have such difficulty explaining ourselves when discussing who the terrorists were that caused 9/11.
Behar and Whoopi should be ashamed. Instead they are proud and explain their immature and inappropriate behavior by claiming what O'Reilly said was hate speech. Why? Because when liberals disagree with conservatives, they start by blaming the conservatives of hate speech. Example? Comparing Obama to Hitler isn't hate speech, it's stupid speech. Saying Obama is a bad President isn't hate speech, it's an opinion.
Until the left learns to sit down calmly and rationally discuss ideas, they will continue to foster and encourage divisiveness in this great nations national discussions. The President is failing precisely because of his inability to listen to or understand opposing views and ideas, choosing instead to consistently try to demonize the other side of the debate.

[Ron Spooner]

Did anyone ever 'walk on' to Joy Behar's crappy TV show? Whoopie (as in puke) is a huge fat loser. The View is done with. They are not professionals and are just whining liberals. If they had said Muslims they would simply say, "I forgot to say extremists," and get away with it! The View has gotten blurry!

[Byron Bourg]

With you & Whoppi walking off, you & the majority of the view showed the nation how all Obama backers don't want to hear any negative materials against him. The only reason you returned was because your boss (Barbara Walters) dissed you on air for your actions of walking out. Whoppi might as well stayed off air with her pouting after returning. The only reason the show made news is the US public enjoys watching idiots make fools of themselves & they didn't disappoint.

[Joy's Mom]

Behar is as useless as rubber lips on a woodpecker.

[carol adams]

What a perfect day Barbara Walters becoming more professional
after all these years of playing the liberal games of disrespect and
hearing some of our Democratic women agreeing( that trash talk
by Jerry Brown or his cronys) was truly discusting. Perhaps there
is hope we can return the Democratic Party back to the re-
spect it held when I was younger and the news was believable.
Let's take back the Democratic Party from Hollywood and the
fringe groups who have made there mud nest in it.
I am sure Mr. O'rielly could care less about the Views of the
women on the View. Since Barbara has shown some of the
proffessionalism she held for so many years, I hope that
people will give her a second chance like I will.

[sophie]

Thanks to Joy and Whoopi (I'm assuming) for treating Muslims as human beings and not the targets of ubiquitous hate speech, which is fueling the verbal and physical assaults of Muslims and Muslim institutions in this country. You are awesome!

[patricia barnes]

i stand with whoopi & joy. barbara should not have apologized for them
walking off th stage.
bill o'reilly is a fear mongering man filled with hatred & deliberate mis-
information. no wonder the country is so divided.

[roady]

Another liberal lets the facts get in the way.
Who is this fat pig anmyways?

[Traci Dennis]

I understand that sometimes people have differing views and that makes good TV for most shows nowadays. But what I've noticed is that Ms. Behar always wants her opinion heard and Mr. O'Reilly has a tendency to not listen to others opinions once he's made his point clear. If I felt bullied or belittled by someone else, I would have walked out too rather than make the argument a personal attack.

[Dawn Dodd]

The Joy and Whoopi walk off was typical of Liberals. They do not want to hear the facts. When they are pushed to recognize the facts they go off on a rabit trail. Such as the Muslem comment. Bill O'Rielly said the "Muslems that attacked us on 911" - that does not in any way group or include all Muslems. This is ignorance, when they are so closed minded that they cannot listen to any other views then their own.

[All Hallows Eve]

Yea, well...I don;t care to read about or hear her explanation. I watched the clip this morning with the sound muted, and that was all I needed to see. I saw O'Reilly's body language and that spoke volumes. Whatever their lame reasoning was for being rude to their guest is unacceptable to me.

Agree with him or not - he was invited on their rag of a show and the hosts' behavior was unprofessional - to say the least.

I once tuned into this show for a brief time in my life - but their self-righteous, snobby attitudes were too much for me. They would never have walked out when their how was in it's infancy...apparently they've grown too big for their britches and need to retire.

[Karla]

Joy Behar should personally know "hate speech" because she is constantly spewing it every other time she opens her mouth. This woman despises Christians; obvious by her continual blasting of them, Catholics in particular. If I could talk face-to-face with Ms. Behar, I would ask only one question: why is it perfectly acceptable for her (and her ilk) to say whatever she likes about Christians, regardless of how offensive, ugly, or venomous but O'Reilly (or anyone of HIS ilk) is not allowed to say that Muslims killed people in 9/11?? This is a perfect example of what is wrong with our current culture.

She is a hypocrite. Plain and simple.

[Bill Hilser]

So, Joy; What were they if not Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses? -- Yer pal, Ferrari Bubba

[Jeff]

More proof that there are still people under the spell of the left in this country.
Can anyone point to any documented cases where muslims are under attack?
There are some who see this and thing "Yeah, O'Reilly deserved it because of something I heard someone else say that they read somewhere that O'Reilly is a hate-monger/bigot/racist/blowhard/etc. So ignoring what he said and instead reading in my own false but previously held understandings of what he said at some point in the past to what I think I heard him say, he was bullying them and spewing hate speech."
Here's a clue - O'Reilly had no chance of being a bully. He was beset on all sides by strong (mostly) women who are all opinionated. His comments were the result of The View asking him to come on the show and discuss controversial topics. When Joy and Whoopi didn't like it (based on their own belief of liberal misinformation and second-hand nonsense), they walked off. Not because what he said was particularly offensive, but because they didn't like it. His speech was not hate speech. He was not attempting to encourage violence or unrest of any kind to Muslims in general. THEY. DIDN'T. LIKE. WHAT. HE. SAID. So they walked off. Like the infants they are. And then you, being absolutely offended by the fact that they were angered by something O'Reilly said, decide its time to let other people know that civility and rational discourse isn't ok because, after all, this was Bill O'Reilly and people I know don't like him and have told me not to either. And they sent me an email with out of context quotes. And he's a mean old man.
Truth is, nothing O'Reilly said or did justified anyone walking off set. Nothing he did or said would have prompted a reasonable, rational, professional television personality, much less a reasonable, rational average person, to walk away from someone because they didn't respond in a way you like.
It's a joke to show these buffoons support. They don't deserve it. Ignore any preconceived notions of Bill O'Reilly and treat him like a normal person and, surprise, it was a good interview, a good argument, and Bill made sense. I know, that would require you to think rationally and use fairness. That only applies to whomever the left tells us to apply it too.
Two unprofessional dimwits walk off the set of an interview show after knowing who Bill is, what he thinks, what he says, how he says it, and asking him to go ahead and say it and people STILL want to say it is ok and they were right? REALLY?
Did I take a bunch of crazy pills this morning? Is the world REALLY about getting angry at a person for being himself and giving his opinion? EVEN WHEN YOU KNOW HIS OPINION BECAUSE YOU ARE PROMOTING HIS BOOK, WHICH EXPLAINS HIS OPINION?
Really. That's lovely. I'm going to go back to bed. My head hurts.

[Charlie U]

It is no wonder the only of the these gossips can stay married. You ladies are an absolute disgrace who cause women to be sterotyped as "bitty hens." Kudos to Bill for putting you in your place. Joy, you should shut your mouth and listen more.

[Angela]

Fire them both. This is the behavior being seen all over this country right now. Vote 2010-2012. God help the U.S.A., our indebted children, grandchildren and put the American flag back on Air Force One!