Watching The View

Today on The View the scheduled guests are Julianne Moore, Whitney Port, and musical guest Peter Cincotti. I will be posting my recap at the end of the episode, but feel free to comment here during the show as well, if you are so inclined.

UPDATE: Actually, sorry, but no recap today. It is Friday, though, so I probably am not missing much. If it was being taped live today, I am sure they would be talking about Rod Blagojevich being removed from office late yesterday afternoon. Barbara Walters would no doubt mention that the prosecutor, in his closing argument, argued that Blagojevich talked more about the evidence with Barbara Walters on The View than he did in the Senate. I am sure that Barbara would say something like she was flattered to be mentioned and she is glad he said her name, unlike that news photo the other day that left her name off. Whoopi would say something like, “Affidavits! Affidavits!” and Joy would joke that Blagojevich’s hair still looks perfect.

Alas, it is a prerecorded episode which probably means a discussion of some sex survey or article that no one cares about. I think I should start a campaign to bring back five days of live shows. As it stands now, Friday’s hot topics are even less relevant than the rest of the week.

The View, Sherri Shepherd, Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Julianne Moore, Whitney Port, Peter Cincotti

Elisabeth Hasselbeck announced this morning on The View that she is pregnant with her third child, ending weeks of speculation by viewers.

She is due in August and told viewers that she did not even know that she was pregnant for the first two months. She was tired, but thought it was just “electionitis.”

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, The View

Today on The View, the guest was Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. All five hosts were present. Elisabeth Hasselbeck announced that she is pregnant with her third child! Everyone who speculated so in the comment section were right! She said that she is due in August and did not even know that she was pregnant for the first two months.

The next topic was Barbara’s Academy award special which will include Anne Hathaway, Mickey Rourke, and the Jonas Brothers.

Then they talked about the bankers’ wives are making support group. Sherri said the article said that the men have become needy and clinging. Elisabeth said that men, more so than women, base their achievement on how much money you make. Sherri said that women know they still have to go and care for their children. Elisabeth said that a kid with croup, makes the DOW going down seem like nothing
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Hello everyone! Just wanted to give everyone some updates and pass on a few links.

Don’t forget that you can still enter my Watching the View giveaway to win a Kimberly-Clark prize pack that includes products and a home design book. To enter and read the rules visit this link: Watching the View and Kimberly-Clark Giveaway.

In case you have not stopped by this week during the time of the live airing of the show (11am eastern), I have been posting the entry for the day early so that you can comment during the show as it is happens. Then I post my recap in that same place. Thanks to Roger from Ohio from the suggestion.

I have been without internet access in my home due to a recent move, so I am very slow in responding to moderated comments. I know that the filter has been working extra hard for some reason and putting comments into moderation based on the inclusion of one link. (And in some cases no noticeable reason at all). If you post a comment and it does not show up, the best thing to do is e-mail me directly and I will try to approve it as soon as I can. I will be able to get it faster if you e-mail than if you just mention it the comments. (reminder: my e-mail is winnieblogs (at) gmail.com)

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Defamer has their take on Sherri Shepherd’s anti-gravity yoga demonstration.

Huffington Post has a video of Whoopi Goldberg reenacting the PETA “Veggie Love” commercial.

Here are a few more photos of Sherri Shepherd at the Trumpet awards. These photos are from during the ceremony. I really like her purple dress, although I personally am partial to purple in general.

watching the view, sherri shepherd, The view, Whoop Goldberg

Today on The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck was back and it was just the four main hosts. Elisabeth had been gone due to the death of her grandmother. She said that her “Mama” as she called her, was a very special person in her life and helped raise her and her brother. She showed a picture of her and her brother with her grandparents from her childhood. She joked that she was surprised to see her natural hair color in the photo because it has been so long. Elisabeth’s brother gave an “amazing eulogy” at the funeral and showed great strength in doing so. Joy said that when your grandmother dies it is different than when your mother dies because a grandmother gives unconditional love and your mother disciplines you. Elisabeth said her Mama was known to go after her with a paddle.

Elisabeth said that they had a traditional Italian wake and funeral and ate a lot of food and “stuffed ourselves silly.” Her grandmother would be happy because she cooked all the time. Whoopi said that black funerals and Italian funerals are similar. She said that someone always says, “I wanna go with her.”
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Today on The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck was still out due to the death of her grandmother. Barbara Walters was actually there rather than on a television screen. She took the Red Eye last night to get to NYC in time for the show.

Whoopi Goldberg wished everyone a Happy Chinese New Year. It is now the year of the Ox. None of them wanted to say what animal year they were born in because then people can figure out their ages.

The first topic was the media coverage of Governor Blagojevich and their thoughts on the governor. Barbara complimented Whoopi for asking him about sending in affidavits if he could not call witnesses. Whoopi said that he had some good points, but the way he is going about it is making him so ridiculous and anything real is lost in the translation. Barbara was on the front page of The New York Times. She said that they did not put her name in the caption and seemed disappointed about that. (The hosts (sans Barbara) and Blago were on the cover on the cover of the Chicago Sun-Times again today).
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Today on The View was another day of hot topics. Today’s guests were Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Nancy Grace. Elisabeth Hasselbeck was not present because her grandmother died. Whoopi Goldberg had a tiara on, I guess because Miss America pageant was this past weekend and she congratulated Miss Indiana on her victory. Barbara Walters appeared on a television by remote because she was in Los Angles to work on the Oscar special. They had the television sitting at the table in the spot where she would be sitting. Sherri Shepherd kissed the screen. It was pretty odd to see the television sitting at the table.
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Here are some photos of Sherri Shepherd at two recent events. The first two are from the Trumpet Awards in Atlanta on Saturday, January 24th. She is pictured with honoree Chris Tucker and actress Kym Whitley.

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Kimberly-Clark, along with celebrity designer Thom Filicia, is partnering with The View again this year for the Room-a-Day Giveaway contest. They will be giving 16 lucky winners $25,000 to makeover a room in their house. You can learn more about the contest at Room-a-Day Giveaway or at the official View website and submit your entry online there. Entries can be submitted through March 6th, although they will begin choosing winners in early February. The website also gives design tips from Filicia, as well as blog entries. He is the same designer who helped redesign The View guest dressing rooms earlier this season.

Although I cannot give away $25,000 prizes, here at Watching the View we are going to be having our own Kimberly-Clark contest! We will be giving away, courtesy of Kimberly-Clark, a prize pack that includes Kimberly-Clark products and Thom Filicia’s book Thom Filicia Style: Inspired Ideas for Creating Rooms You’ll Love. You can read about his book at Amazon if you want to see what it is all about. Kimberly-Clark products include Kleenex, Huggies, and Cottonelle.

How do you enter the Watching the View and Kimberly-Clark contest? It’s easy. Just post in the comment section below what kind of segment you would like to participate in on The View. Do you have a talent you want to showcase? Is their a cause near to your heart that you would love to spread the word about? Are you obsessed with a particular actor that you would love to interview on the show?

Official Rules for the Watching the View contest:

1. All entries must be received by Sunday February 1st at 11:00 p.m. central time.

2. To enter, comment on this blog entry and let me know what segment you would like to participate in on The View, per the description above. You must put a valid e-mail address in the “e-mail” box of the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not share your e-mail address or use it for any other purpose but this contest.

3. I will select one random winner from all eligible entries. The winner will be contacted via e-mail and must respond to the e-mail with their mailing address within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen. The prize pack will be sent directly from Kimberly-Clark.

4. If you are a first time commenter, your comment may initially go into moderation. I will be sure to include all comments made prior to the deadline in the drawing, including those in moderation, and those that may have inadvertently ended up in the spam filter.

Questions? E-mail me at winnieblogs (at) gmail.com (change at to @ and remove the spaces)

Thanks to Kimberly-Clark for sponsoring this giveaway!

The rumor that I posted this morning is true! ABC News just announced that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his wife Patti will appear on The View this Monday, January 26th. He will also be on Good Morning America earlier Monday.

The View, Rod Blagojevich, Patti Blagojevich

EDITED TO ADD: ABC News just announced that Rod Blagojevich and his wife Patti will be on Monday!

Here is the The View schedule for January 26th-30th, subject to change.

Monday January 26th: Day of Hot Topics; ETA: Rod Blagojevich, Patti Blagojevich

Tuesday January 27th: Liza Minnelli, Padma Lakshmi

Wedneady January 28th: Liam Neeson, Jason O’Mara (Life on Mars)

Thursday January 29th: Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice

Friday January 30th: Julianne Moore, Whitney Port (The City), musical guest Peter Cincotti

Today on this pre-taped episode of The View, it was four hosts again, with Sherri Shepherd being absent. She will be back on Monday.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck had a “major problem” with The Bachelor this week, which she just watched on TiVo. She is pulling for one woman who lost her husband and is a single mom. However, the woman’s little girl, who appeared in the episode, was not in a car seat or even buckled in the back of a car leaving their date with the bachelor. Barbara Walters thought maybe she was in the car for a moment for the shot only. Elisabeth said that there is a higher risk of death for toddlers not in car seats or booster seats. Joy said she wondered what the truth of all of it is, because women used to drink while pregnant, and smoke, and didn’t buckle seat belts.
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The front page story on my local Chicago Sun-Times newspaper is the rumor that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich wants to appear on The View. The appearance would be part of his campaign to take his story to the media and be able to tell his side.

The Sun-Times was unable to confirm whether Blagojevich was actually booked on the show because they were told by the show’s spokesman that the show doesn’t discuss bookings, per their policy. I wonder if he was not booked, or in the process of being booked, the spokesman would have just said that was the case?

I am sure that Barbara Walters is beside herself with excitement over the possibility of obtaining this “big get.” It would certainly be a ratings boost for the show, especially if it is the first major media program that he appears on.

The article suggests that Blagojevich may want to go on the show because he was “reportedly moved by what he felt was a touch of sympathy from (Whoopi) Goldberg.”

However, I also remember the hosts being pretty harsh on him in the hot topics, not to mention repeatedly mispronouncing his name, so I don’t know how sympathetic they will be. Especially because they will want to ask tough questions of him in order to ensure media coverage of their interview. It certainly would not be a walk in the park for him.

What do you think? Should Governor Blagojevich appear on The View? What kind of questions do you think they hosts will ask him? What would you like to ask him?

Photo: Chicago Sun-Times

The View, Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters, Rod Blagojevich

Today on The View, Sherri Shepherd was absent. She will also be absent tomorrow (which is probably filmed today), but no reason was given. Whoopi Goldberg said, “Hurry home, hurry home.”

They discussed the Oscar nominations which were announced this morning. Barbara Walters was surprised that Clint Eastwood was not nominated for Best Actor. Whoopi was surprised that Richard Jenkins was nominated, because people don’t know that name. He was the dad on Six Feet Under and was nominated for The Visitor. Barbara said that people might not be familiar with Frank Langella, but is well known as a great stage actor. Whoopi agreed and said that she used to live with him. Elisabeth said, “you did?” (How did she not know that they were a couple at one point?) . Barbara jokingly asked Whoopi, out of the nominees is that the only one you dated?
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Sherri Shepherd has made no secret of the fact that she would love to be on Dancing with the Stars. She has said previously that her schedule on The View has made it impossible because DWTS requires long days of rehearsals and performances in Los Angeles.

Now that another season of Dancing with the Stars is approaching, the rumors of Sherri Shepherd joining the case have resumed. Hollyscoop posted the rather misleading headline of “Sherri Shepherd to Join Dancing with the Stars,” but if you read the InTouch article they reference, you quickly see that nothing has been decided.

InTouch says that a DWTS “insider” said they are interested in having her on the show and, of course, she is interested in being on it, but that is all there is to the story right now. She will really have to work something out with The View in order to be absent from the show as often as she would need be.

Most times when the idea of her being on DWTS comes up, Sherri has expressed concern over the fact that she does not have the requiste fan base to get the necessary votes to stay on the show, regardless of talent. I certainly know that her enthusiasm and love for the show would be an asset, but I, too, wonder if enough people would vote for her.

What do you think? Should Sherri join the DWTS cast? Do you think that she would be successful on the show?

Thanks to Vegas for the link.

The View, Sherri Shepherd, Dancing with the Stars