Watching The View

Joy Behar went to see Jerry Springer: The Opera which is based on The Jerry Springer Show. Harvey Keitel plays Jerry Springer and the rest of the cast sings as they act out scenes from the show. Robert De Niro was in the crowd and Joy got “a little excited.” She said that De Niro only like African-American women, though, based on “his résumé.” Whoopi Goldberg said, “I am part of that résumé.” When the audience “oohed” and “ahhed,” she said that they are friends and if it were otherwise you would have heard about it long before today. Whoopi said that he likes women. She said that people always tell her that she likes white men, but really she just like men.

There were several people in the audience of The View wearing New York Giants jerseys. Elisabeth said that it supposed to be the biggest game ever of the Super Bowl. Every time she goes to the store she buys more chips so she doesn’t run out for the big game. Then she joked that it will be just her and Tim watching, they will probably get fat by the time the game is over. Joy asked, “When is it on?” She also said that she knew the Giants were playing, but didn’t know the other team who was playing.
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Barbara Walters said that she will not be on the show all next week because she will be in California filming her Oscar special. Bill Geddie is already out there preparing for the show. Joy asked who was going to be on the special and Barbara said, “I don’t say a thing without Bill and he is not here.”

The first topic today was Britney Spears who went to the hospital last night at the instance of her psychiatrist. Sherri Shepherd said that as a mother she feels bad for her two boys. Barbara said that, “You just ache for her and her whole family.”

Joy Behar went to a screening of Bernard and Doris, a film about Doris Duke, who was once the richest woman in America. Joy recommended the movie. Sherri said that she didn’t know who they were talking about. Barbara said, “Doris Duke. D-U-K-E.” Sherri joked, “Good thing I can spell.” When Joy went to the screening Rush Limbaugh came up to her and sucked on her neck. Sherri said, “What if you got turned on before you realized who it was?”
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Although you may watch The View and think that you have nothing in common with newest co-host Sherri Shepherd because of her academic blunders or her religious upbringing, based on my interview with her, I have developed this list of things that you probably do have in common with her.

1. Your family is the most important thing in your life.
Sherri makes no secret that her number one priority is her son Jeffrey. She is trying to win custody of her two-year-old following her divorce. Complicating the issue is that her son has health issues that make living in the cold winter climate of New York difficult. Her love her son was evident throughout our conversation and it is clear that she makes all of her career decisions with Jeffrey in the forefront, frequently expressing the importance of making (and saving) money to care for her son. When she learned that she was diagnosed with diabetes, she knew she had to get healthy for her son.

2. You care about the upcoming election.
Although she admitted on The View that she has never voted before, Sherri is trying to learn as much as she can about the political process because she now recognizes the importance of this election. She is trying to decide which candidate to vote for that will be the best for the country and her family.
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Sherri Shepherd revealed on The View that she was recently diagnosed with diabetes and has since started a healthier lifestyle and lost 22 pounds. During our exclusive interview, I asked her about how she discovered that she had the disease, which often goes undiagnosed.

They had told me for years that I was pre-diabetic and my mother died at 41 from diabetic complications. A lot of people in my family have it. “Pre-diabetic” to me meant you could still eat anything you want.

Then I was having all the symptoms. I had to use the bathroom a lot and I was dehydrated and that is when they told me that I had it. My doctor scared me because she said that the way you are going, in a few years something is going to get cut-off. You are going to have a limb removed and you might die.

It scared me so bad because I have a two-year-old and I was thinking “Who was going to take care of this boy?” That was the impetus to change the way I ate. I look a cheesecake now and I might have a little bite, but I look at it and think do I want my foot and my son, or do I want this cheesecake?

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After she nearly missed the deadline for registering to vote, Sherri Shepherd can finally relax and carefully take the time to decide which candidate to vote for in the primary. Despite the common belief that she is a conservative, Sherri told me in our interview that she may actually vote for a Democrat.

I am still undecided. Joy says I am a liberal conservative, so I am kind of leading to the Democratic side, more than the Republican side. I am leaning toward Hillary Clinton, but I am still just waiting.

I’m still looking because this is the first time in my life that I have been looking at candidates and what they stand for. It seems like everybody is kind of saying the same thing, so I am trying to figure out how to go beyond that. Joy is very into human behavior, so she says “read between the lines.”

Hillary Clinton had a strong impression on Sherri when she came on The View as a guest.

I was very impressed with Hillary Clinton–the power that just emanated from her body, the fact that she remembered everybody on the crew and their name and when she shook your hand, she looked directly in your eye. I am a fan.

This is how Sherri described her reaction when she thought that she had missed the deadline to register to vote absentee:

I was just stressed out about trying to get that (registration in). I was so lucky. You don’t know the panic that I went through to have go and tell these women that I missed the damned deadline for the absentee ballot and I’m on this show where they are talking about this and I can’t even vote. I am in such deep doo-doo. Barbara is going to kill me.

To read my entire exclusive interview with Sherri Shepherd, go here.

During my exclusive interview with Sherri Shepherd, she revealed the process of how the hot topics are chosen each day on The View.

The hosts all meet up in the hair and make-up room and are given a big packet of possible topics, which include political news, human interest stories, and celebrity news. The women all go through the packet and point out topics that they are interested it. Sherri described the selection process this way:

If it is a big discussion and it seems like a lot of people are getting into the discussion, then they will hold it until we are out at the table. If there is a topic that we all agree on, then there is no discussion. If people wonder why they didn’t talk about a particular topic, it could be that there was no dissenting opinion. If we are passionate about it or it sparks a discussion or if it is big news, we will talk about it. There are some things that some of the ladies don’t want to talk about, but I will say that it is a big issue that people are talking about, like internet bullying. Joy and Whoopi don’t get on the internet, so they don’t want to talk about it.

Most regular viewers of The View know that the Friday episodes are taped earlier in the week, which is why they don’t discuss current event topics. The topic that might be big on the day they film will be old news by Friday. Sherri compared tapings for Friday shows to a “jeans day” at an office, which is more relaxed. Some of the topics on Friday shows come for your fellow viewers:

We take a lot of questions that the viewers wrote in with. Viewers write in with problems they are having and we will take that question and talk about it at the table. People ask “Why do they talk about sex so much?” A lot of viewers will write in questions about sex.

For the rest of my exclusive interview with Sherri Shepherd, go here.

Since Sherri Shepherd began her permanent stint on The View last fall, she has been without her two-year-old son Jeffrey, who remained in Los Angeles with his father. While Sherri has mentioned in the past that the New York weather is too harsh for her son, who was born prematurely, there is more to the story, which she revealed in an exclusive interview with Watching the View.

He was born at 5.5 months. He was in the hospital three times with pneumonia and has a hole in his right lung. Any kind of weather change, he coughs violently.

I am going through a custody battle, which is why I don’t have Jeffrey. It is quite nasty and quite expensive and it is just bad, so I wasn’t able to take him out of state. I had to move and I could not take my son. I fly back three times a month to see him.

With it being so cold, he came out to visit me one time, and I took him to a store to get one thing and all night he coughed and I thought I had to take him to emergency. I had wanted to bring him out in September to kind of ease him into the cold weather, but it didn’t work out that way.

For the other parts of this exclusive interview, go here.

This week I had the chance to interview View host Sherri Shepherd. Some of you long time readers will remember that I did an interview with her last year when she was a guest host at the show. This new interview covered a wide range of topics and I will be breaking it down into several posts over the next few days.

Sherri revealed that after her now famous comments about whether the world is round or flat, she stopped reading the tabloids and blogs because all of the comments about her. Here is what she said:

I don’t remember the last time I picked up The Enquirer because now I am on the receiving end. When I was a legal secretary and we read the stuff and gossip about it, I would think, “Who is Michael Jackson, he doesn’t know me. I don’t know him, what can it hurt?” Now when I read stuff about me that is so not true and so not me and people are so vicious, I realize I am on the other side and it isn’t fun anymore.

I even stopped reading Perez once I saw myself on there. There were 800 comments using every adjective and I was like “This ain’t fun.” It’s amazing what people can say when their faces are not shown and you can just type. I still subscribe to People, but that is about it . . . I don’t read any blogs anymore or go on any site, because people can be really really vicious. I closed down my website because people were writing just horrible, horrible things.

She said that the reason that she still visits Watching the View even though she doesn’t go to any other sites is because being on the show “is like getting married and you never remember what happened on the day, so I go to get a recap of what happened.”

Sherri asked me to deliver this message to all of you, the loyal readers of Watching the View:

Tell everyone at Watching the View I said, “Hey!” and that I do read it.

On your site, there is intelligent stuff written. The people are not mean. People have an opinion and it is good stuff and it is bad stuff, but it is an opinion. Yours is the only site I read.

Coming soon Sherri discusses: her health, her son, her co-hosts, and reveals why it is they talk so much about sex on The View. Also upcoming is another message from Sherri to all of you!

The View, Sherri Shepherd

On The View this morning, Elisabeth Hasselbeck excitedly discussed the reunion of the New Kids on the Block. Here is a video clip of her showing her singing and dancing, as well as engaging in a debate with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar about her comment that they were “my Beatles.”

Although I did not break out in song or dance, I must admit I, too, was rather excited when I first heard of a possible reunion.

The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, NKOTB, The New Kids on the Block, Sherri Shepherd, Whoopi Goldberg

Project Blog is back after a short hiatus. Here is the information on this week’s prize. Go here if you want to enter to win.

It’s that time again - time to announce the Project Blog Week Nine prize for contestants and readers! In the dark about what Project Blog is all about? Basically, it is a competition for bloggers, where readers get to have a say in the winner. You can read more here. Last week we gave away copies of some great books, courtesy of Humor-Blogs. This week, we have some new incredible sponsors puttin’ up the goods.

Week Eight’s Sponsor: Stress Less

Week Eight’s Prizes:

And that’s not all! I’m sweetening the pot a little and throwing in ANOTHER prize - The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook. (I thought it was appropriate, given that this week’s prizes are all stress-busters!)

That means two lucky winners and the blogger of the week are all getting prizes! Woo hoo! How can you enter? Simple - just tell us what stresses you out most, and then head to the Stress Less website and give us a product link to what you’d like to buy to relieve that stress. So, your comment might look like the following,

“I’m most stressed out by problems in my love life. I could sure use a copy of the Lover’s Massage Healing Touch Video.”

Yesterday, Joy Behar had a rodent in her office. She said it was big and “had a personality.” She said she jumped on the couch and screamed and everyone came running to see what was wrong. Elisabeth Hasselbeck said that her daughter Grace saw a rodent there last week and she was chasing after it. Whoopi Goldberg said that it is unacceptable to her and that she is “too big” to have rodents in her workspace. Elisabeth keeps getting stuck on the glue paper set up on the floor to catch the rodents.

Elisabeth is excited about New Kids on the Block getting back together. She and Sherri Shepherd started singing “Hangin’ Tough” together. Elisabeth was a member of their fan club and since she never got an official cancellation, she still considers herself a member. She said that they were “my Beatles” and Whoopi looked offended and Joy said that was too much and that there is “no comparison.” Then Elisabeth got up and did a little dance. Whoopi joked they are now the “old dudes on the block” and there are other bands that are great that she should like

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In her latest blog entry at Dreft, Elisabeth Hasselbeck posted this picture of her and new son Taylor Thomas Hasselbeck. She revealed that the photo was taken by none other than little Grace Hasselbeck!

Most of the rest of the entry was information that she previously disclosed on The View, like her trip to The Little Mermaid with Grace and her date with husband Tim to see Rascal Flatts in concert.

She also added the following about her lack of sleep:

This week is going to be incredibly hectic, as I definitely did not practice the power of “no”, and overscheduled myself. Still no sleep in sight, as Taylor insists on feeding three times between 6 and midnight, and again at night. I don’t really mind, as he takes breaks between gulps to give me big coos and smiles!!! Thankfully Tim has been around to help me out with the nighttime feed. I am still trying to figure out how to manage days that are no longer mine with deadlines that definitely are!

I wish I could write more, but I have been spotted by Grace, who wants to play MEMORY. The scary thing is that, given the fact that she is much more well rested- I will most likely lose.

For the full entry, head to Dreft.

The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Tim Hasselbeck, Grace Hasselbeck, The Little Mermaid, Dreft, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Hasselbeck

Barbara Walters received a phone call over the weekend from Britney Spears’s manager Sam Lufti and, as I reported earlier, she disclosed the contents of that conversation on The View this morning.

The View, Britney Spears, Sam Lufti, Barbara Walters

For those of you who missed today’s episode of The View, here is the interview of Reverend Al Sharpton.

The View, Al Sharpton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Martin Luther King, Jr.

ABC has just released the highlights of what we can expect on The View this February.

It looks like they aren’t through with their Whoopi Goldberg make-over. After previously launching a campaign to have her quit smoking, on February 8th they will be starting up “cardio-free/all resistance training diet with an official weigh-in, live, on-air.” The segments will continue through May. I hope Whoopi can work up more enthusiasm for the segments than she did during the no smoking segments.

Other segments to look out for:

Ms. Goldberg and her fellow co-hosts enjoy a day of pampering at a local spa (week of Feb. 25).

On Wednesday, Feb. 20 the hosts compete against one another in a bowling match.

Working mom Elisabeth Hasselbeck selects outfits for each co-host valued at under $100.00, airing Friday, Feb. 15. The co-hosts will hit the runway to model their looks.

Co-host Sherri Shepherd challenges herself by working three drastically different New York City jobs. This segment will air Friday, Feb. 8.

Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd reveal the hottest new toys as they tour the annual Toy Fair at New York’s Jacob Javits Center, Monday, Feb. 25.

Day of Real Life Hot Topics (Feb. 4, 11 and 25) – one-hour of real life hot topics are discussed featuring all five co-hosts.

Kids Theme Show (Monday, Feb. 18) – Lori Berkner and musical guest the Naked Brothers Band are featured during this special one-hour show focusing on kids.

Some expected guests: Julianne Moore, Dr. Phil McGraw, Toni Braxton, Fergie, Elizabeth Mitchell, Tyra Banks, George Stephanopoulos and Alexandra Wentworth, Susan Sarandon, Kelsey Grammer, Donny Osmond, Charles Dutton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Valerie Bertinelli, Heidi Klum, the Harlem Globetrotters, Michael Emerson, Jessica Lange and Joan Allen, Nathan Lane, Rob Lowe and Kathleen Turner.

Musical performances in February include Idina Menzel, Sheryl Crow, Broadway’s “The Little Mermaid” and Naked Brothers Band.