The liberal ladies of ABC’s The View were quick to choose sides in the feud between controversial actress Jane Fonda and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly on the January 23 episode of their show. After Kelly attacked Fonda as someone who had no moral authority to lecture others on what was “offensive,” after her history of anti-American activism in Vietnam, the View hosts gasped at Kelly’s nerve in going after the actress.
The feud started when Fonda appeared as Kelly’s guest on NBC’s Today back in September. Fonda bristled at being asked about her plastic surgery, and went on to attack Kelly’s journalism skills in subsequent interviews. After the latest jab in a Variety interview, Kelly responded with a scathing rant against Fonda on Monday's Today to which the View hosts took umbrage.
After playing the clip of Kelly defending herself for asking an appropriate question, which Fonda had been “open about in the past,” she blasted the actress for lecturing her on what was “appropriate” or “offensive,” considering her “treatment of our military during the Vietnam War.”
“She has no business lecturing anyone on what qualifies as offensive,” Kelly affirmed.
But the hosts at The View had more criticism for Kelly herself. “Nor do you. Nor do you,” Whoopi bristled as the audience and panel responded with sounds of shock.
Joy Behar acted offended that Kelly would even bring up Fonda’s anti-war activism, and claimed Fonda deserved less blame than the lawmakers who “sent boys as cannon fodder”:
Wow. I mean, really. To drag the Vietnam War into a plastic surgery conversation is a real stretch, Megyn, okay? And why are people more angry with Jane Fonda about the Vietnam War than they were to Nixon and LBJ and people who lied about the war, who sent boys as cannon fodder to that unjust and filthy war. It amazes me how you can focus on Jane Fonda!
A riled up Behar then quipped nastily, “Jane should have just said to her, and ‘how much work have you had, bitch?’” to audience applause.
While co-host Meghan McCain agreed that plastic surgery question was not the time to bring up Fonda’s very “serious” anti-war past, she argued it was “beneath them” to be adding fuel to this feud.
Guest co-host Ann Curry agreed, laughably saying that journalists shouldn’t be the story:
“[J]ournalists are not supposed to be the story. We're supposed to be-- and it's a struggle, I think, for everyone to be, but we're supposed to be humble,” she argued.
But Whoopi and Behar again defended Fonda as having made a simple “mistake” decades ago. Whoopi even argued that Kelly had no right to lecture Fonda, as she once said Santa Claus was “white,” as if that verbal flub was equivalent to what Fonda did in the Vietnam War:
“If I can forgive you for telling all my friends' black children that Santa is only white. You can step back. Because you made a mistake. You made a mistake. We all make mistakes. You gotta lighten up, babe,” Whoopi gushed.
“And Jane made a mistake!” Behar added.
Whoopi agreed, adding that Fonda had apologized for it, and was now the victim of a witch hunt led by Fox News (of course):
“And Jane made a mistake. She's copped to it. To her dying day, as she's said, that will haunt her to her dying day. She's aware. Believe me, she knows how Fox News has used that and how it's portrayed her. She knows, ok? She's doing her best. For you to do that is so -- it's so not you,” she lectured.
After commercial break, Behar apologized for her foul language, saying she actually “liked” Megyn Kelly, having met her previously “at parties.”
See the full transcript from the segment below:
ABC's The View
January 23, 2018
MEGYN KELLY: I have no regrets about that question. Nor am I in the market for a lesson from Jane Fonda on what is and is not appropriate. After all this is a woman whose name is synonymous with outrage. Look at her treatment of our military during the Vietnam war. Many of our veterans -- [ applause ] -- Still call her Hanoi Jane. Thanks to her radio broadcast that attempted to shame American troops. She put her plastic surgery out there. She has no business lecturing anyone on what qualifies as offensive.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Nor do you. Nor do you.
JOY BEHAR: Wow. I mean, really. To drag the Vietnam War into a plastic surgery conversation is a real stretch, Megyn, okay? And also why are people more angry with Jane Fonda about the Vietnam War than they are with Nixon and LBJ and people who lied about the war, who sent boys as cannon fodder to that unjust and filthy war. It amazes me how you can focus on Jane Fonda!
MEGHAN MCCAIN: It’s one thing to be a politician making policy and sending people over to war. It's a whole other thing to be an actor, going over, trending anti-war propaganda. It was a very, very, very big deal to many veterans. She’s talking about POWs and obviously my father was a P.O.W. I will say that she says she regrets doing that to my dying day. I don't like any of this in general. When you're revisiting things as serious as anti-war propaganda and people going over in such a context, it has nothing to do with plastic surgery. It's much more serious than the issue at hand.
SUNNY HOSTIN: What bothered me, I have never seen a journalist do something like that.
JOY BEHAR: Who's the journalist?
SUNNY HOSTIN: Well, not anymore. Not anymore.
ANN CURRY: The reason you don't see it is because -- journalists are not supposed to be the story. We're supposed to be, and it's a struggle, I think, for everyone to be, but we're supposed to be humble. We're supposed to use whatever time we're given to shine a light on other stories. I mean there are so many stories that we're not covering and to take time with this feels exactly --
BEHAR: Jane should have just said to her, and how much work have you had, bitch? I mean -- [laughs]
MCCAIN: Can I interject. All of this is beneath all of us. And as someone I have looked up to my entire career. I adore you. I adore the work you did. Especially in Afghanistan and the kind of interviews you did. And we're lacking right now, people like Ann. So, I think most importantly -- [ applause ] I don't care about women having, if you want plastic surgery. Amazing. I do agree with you that there-- there's so many more provocative and interesting topics. That Megyn should be covering.
WHOOPI: I will say this. Megyn, not this Meghan, that one. If I can forgive you for telling all my friends black children that Santa is only white. You can step back. Because you made a mistake. You made a mistake. We all make mistakes. You gotta lighten up, babe.
BEHAR: And Jane made a mistake.
WHOOPI: And Jane made a mistake. She's copped to it. To her dying day, as she's said, that will haunt her to her dying day. She's aware. Believe me, she knows how Fox News has used that and how it's portrayed her. She knows, ok? She's doing her best. For you to do that is so -- it's so not you.
HOSTIN: And not only is it not her, it's not the Today show.
