Barbara Walters Scolds Those Who Make Lewinsky Jokes

Ten years after the Lewinsky scandal broke, Barbara Walters is still acting as a spokeswoman for Bill Clinton’s former mistress. On the January 21 episode, Walters scolded fellow "View" panelist Joy Behar for incorporating Monica Lewinsky jokes into her comic routine, opining "I don’t think one should joke about it."

The veteran journalist, who landed the first interview with Lewinsky, hyped her recent master’s degree and claimed she is having difficulties finding a job. Elisabeth Hasselbeck felt "that’s what happens when you make decisions like that, that affect your future." Whoopi Goldberg ended the segment adding that women should support Lewinsky because she’s a woman. After the commercial break, Hasselbeck replied that she thinks " about supporting the person, you know, and taking gender out of it."

This led to a discussion over Hillary Clinton’s presidency and Joy Behar admitted gender plays a role in how she votes.

BEHAR: Of all things being equal I think, let’s say. Let’s say you have a woman and a man and they’re both highly qualified. And they have exactly the same advantage, let’s say. I would pick the woman then in that case. I would, in fact, because they’re equal, exactly equal.

HASSELBECK: Then you would have to go to, okay, what do I have in common with this person?

Incorporating Barack Obama, Behar seemed to take the line from "Good Morning America," asking if America is more racist or more sexist.

"Here’s the question, and this is the underbelly of the country and everybody has their own conscience about it. Is the country more racist than sexist when it really comes down to it? When you’re behind that curtain, what’s the truth?"

After the "Hot Topics" discussion Colin Powell appeared as a guest. To commemorate the holiday, Powell discussed a new Martin Luther King memorial and mentioned some of the private funds he is encouraging for the project. Joy Behar encouraged asking left wing billionaire George Soros.

"You could get the money from George Soros or somebody. He’s got a lot of cash, and he’s a liberal too with money, which is unusual."

Behar is forgetting about other rich billionaires such as Ted Turner and Warren Buffett, not to mention the many rich liberal Hollywood activists such as Alec Baldwin, Rosie O’Donnell, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, and Barbara Streisand, just to name a few. Then there’s Behar herself, who seems to be doing well at the moment.

Relevant portions of the transcript are below.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: I know that you and Barbara were talking about this anniversary that has come up recently.

BARBARA WALTERS: Yes, last week, Joy, Joy did her act, Joy based her act on this now for how many-

JOY BEHAR: Monica Lewinsky. I still have jokes about that.

WALTERS: You still joke about it?

BEHAR: It’s history. It’s historical.

WALTERS: I don’t think one should joke about it.

SHERRI SHEPHERD: It never grows old.

BEHAR: Why do you think I shouldn’t have done that Barbara?

WALTERS: No, I don’t think- no. Listen it was so much a part of history. Today is the tenth anniversary of when the wonderful Linda Tripp turned in the information on Monica, which led to, you know, the impeachment and what happened to Monica. But I, I’m still in touch with Monica, and I’m not crying over Monica, I’m crying because my mascara just got in my eye.

BEHAR: What does Monica have to say these days?

WALTERS: Well, but you know, this is, everybody’s gone on, okay. I mean, Ken Starr now is the president of Pepperdine, people have found their lives and their jobs. Yeah, Linda Tripp has a-

SHEPHERD: She’s at the Social Security office. Everybody’s gone on.

WALTERS: No, now she has a store. She got married. She has had her face changed. You wouldn’t recognize her.

BEHAR: Two face changes, one for each face.

[laughter and applause]

WALTERS: But the thing with Monica, Monica has really tried so hard to, to create a good life for herself. She just recently got a master’s degree in social psychology from the London School of Economics, her thesis is interesting: "In Search of the Impartial Juror: An Exploration of the Third Person Effect in Pre-Trial Publicity." And she got a master’s degree. She’s finding it very difficult to get a job. Everybody else, you know, yeah I mean-

ELISABETH HASSELBECK: But that’s what happens when you make decisions that affect your future. You know, I think it’s great that she’s doing these things-

WALTERS: I don’t think she thought at the time what her, you know, what, you know-

HASSELBECK: Of course everybody makes mistakes.

WALTERS: Yes, but people make mistakes and when you’re very young you make mistakes, and there are a lot of young women.

GOLDBERG: Listen, they brought Richard Nixon back, okay? Everyone makes mistakes.

HASSELBECK: We’re the country of forgiveness. I do believe that. But I also think that, you know, as much as she wants to redefine her life. I, I do believe, whether it be for the good of for not, the fact that she would always be know for-

WALTERS: Yes, but that’s sad. That’s not something to punish her for.

HASSELBECK: -her affair with President Clinton.

WALTERS: There are lots of young women who have lots of affairs. At the time there was nothing that she wanted. She was forced to admit it. But let’s not rehash Monica, and you know, what happened ten years ago. Let’s just say give the woman a chance, and she’s a very intelligent woman. She has tried to move-

BEHAR: Why can’t she get a job Barbara?

WALTERS: Just because of this attitude we just talked about.

HASSELBECK: I’m just saying it is hard to overcome it. It is hard to overcome something that big.

SHEPHERD: She got a Phd, what’s she working at McDonald’s for?

BEHAR: I’m just saying there are jobs out there. There are jobs.

SHEPHERD: Maybe she should get a facelift like Linda Tripp. Nobody recognizes her.

GOLDBERG: I am so glad that we as women stand behind women who have made mistakes. I am so glad that we are so behind them.

[...]

GOLDBERG: Hi, we’re back. Now, before we went to break, I was sort of tongue in cheek saying to everybody thank goodness we’re all sticking behind the women. You know, because we’re being so supportive. But in a funny way I guess it sort of comes to Hillary who won in Nevada and wondering whether, you know, she’s going to have a harder time with women than she’s going to have with men. I don’t know.

[...]

HASSELBECK: And to what you say Whoopi, you know, you say "oh I’m glad women are supporting women." I guess I never think of it like that. I think about supporting the person, you know, and taking gender out of it. Because, you could, that could be turned around in saying "well men should support men because they’re men." I would hope that people would, you’d support the person and what they’re doing not just the gender.

[...]

BEHAR: Of all things being equal I think, let’s say. Let’s say you have a woman and a man and they’re both highly qualified. And they have exactly the same advantage, let’s say. I would pick the woman then in that case. I would, in fact, because they’re equal, exactly equal.

HASSELBECK: Then you would have to go to, okay, what do I have in common with this person?

[...]

BEHAR: Here’s the question, and this is the underbelly of the country and everybody has their own conscience about it. Is the country more racist than sexist when it really comes down to it? When you’re behind that curtain, what’s the truth?

[...]

BEHAR: You could get the money from George Soros or somebody. He’s got a lot of cash, and he’s a liberal too with money, which is unusual.