On Tuesday, Joy Behar, former co-host on ABC’s The View, appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss a variety of political issues as the 2016 presidential field takes shape and decided to take a cheap shot at Mike Huckabee for his comments directed at pop singer Beyonce.
Speaking to co-host Mika Brzezinski, Behar proclaimed “the overriding thing about this conversation with Huckabee is, you know, there's a certain mental midgetness to it that.”
At issue for the liberal comic were Huckabee’s brief comments in his latest book in which the former Arkansas governor criticized Beyonce’s sexual lyrics. Huckabee insisted that someone with Beyone's talent does not need to produce such sexualized music.
For her part, Brzezinski actually defended Huckabee and argued that she was “sort of with him on the Beyonce thing...I have two daughters, and I kind of worry a little bit about how young they are being exposed to some of sort of the sexual antics on stage.”
After Brzezinski eagerly defended Huckabee, Behar made sure to slam the conservative and went so far as to question his intelligence:
But just because you're watching somebody being entertaining doesn't mean you’re going to then imitate them. I mean kids, all different kinds of kids. You know why would a girl want to act like that? This girl has talent for one thing. Most kids, I don’t know about your daughters, are your daughters as talented?
--
But you know, here’s the thing. The overriding thing about this conversation with Huckabee is, you know, there's a certain mental midgetness to it that, you know, the world is falling apart. We're worried about being attacked all over the world. The climate change is going to kill this world-- And he’s talking about Beyonce's outfit. I mean, who cares, this is not presidential material.
Given Behar’s controversial history during her tenure on The View, one must ask if she is the best person to question someone else's intelligence. In 2012, the liberal comedian claimed Virginia’s abortion laws were like “the Taliban" and in 2013, the former View co-host also insisted that there was “no shortage of dicks at Fox.”
See relevant transcript below.
MSNBC’s Morning Joe
January 20, 2015
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Well, we’ve got a lot of talk going on about 2016 and some of the Republicans. So let's look at how the field is shaping up. We had one possible contender on Morning Joe this morning.
JOY BEHAR: Oh, Huckabee
BRZEZINSKI: Yes. Did you see?
BEHAR: I did.
BRZEZINSKI: Okay. We asked him about his Beyonce comments and stuff like that. Take a look.
[Begin clip]
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Let me just start with a tough question. What do you have against Beyonce?
MIKE HUCKABEE: Nothing,
SCARBOROUGH: No, come on now.
HUCKABEE: She is half a page in a 242-page book. .
SCARBOROUGH: You were pushing Beyonce. I can't even tell you what she sings.
HUCKABEE: That's the point. You could not repeat the lyrics. And it was an illustration in a chapter in the book called “the culture of crude.” Somebody picked it up. Of all the things in the book that I thought were going to be controversial, that really wasn't it.
SCARBOROUGH: You didn’t think that was it.
HUCKABEE: No. It's not something that I would be afraid to talk about. And in fact, the reaction to it within the land of what I call bubbleville validates my point.
SCARBOROUGH: Can I just say though--
HUCKABEE: Yes?
SCARBOROUGH: This is the capital of bubbleville, so we thank you for stepping -- you are the boy in the plastic bubble right now.
HUCKABEE: Pretty much.
[End Clip]
BRZEZINSKI: I'm sort of with him on the Beyonce thing.
BEHAR: Well, you know what? Mika you're not old enough maybe to remember Elvis Presley. They said the same thing about him that he was flashing his pelvis and how disgusting it was and how degenerate it was. Everybody survived. All the baby boomers got through life very nicely thank you.
BRZEZINSKI: But I’m like, I have two daughters, and I kind of worry a little bit about how young they are being exposed to some of sort of the sexual antics on stage. I think of like Miley Cyrus and the other young women who appeal to young girls in some way, shape or form then doing very erotic stuff on stage.
BEHAR: But just because you're watching somebody being entertaining doesn't mean you’re going to then imitate them. I mean kids, all different kinds of kids. You know why would a girl want to act like that? This girl has talent for one thing. Most kids, I don’t know about your daughters, are your daughters as talented?
BRZEZINSKI: I have very talented daughters but I hope that they don't imitate Beyonce. She's very talented, there's no question. I would actually argue that Miley Cyrus is talented too.
BEHAR: But you know, here’s the thing. The overriding thing about this conversation with Huckabee is, you know, there's a certain mental midgetness to it that, you know, the world is falling apart. We're worried about being attacked all over the world. The climate change is going to kill this world--
BRZEZINSKI: And you’re talking about Beyonce.
BEHAR: And he’s talking about Beyonce's outfit. I mean, who cares, this is not presidential material.
