Watching The View

Law and Order star S. Epatha Merkerson was today’s guest co-host. She is also currently starring in the film Black Snake Moan.

Merkerson recently lost 23 pounds and has been using her treadmill for more than just a place to hang clothes. She said that she quit smoking after smoking for 23 years, in part because her sister is a lung cancer survivor. She said that she was in a movie that called for her character to smoke. She made her manager call the producers to tell them that she couldn’t smoke.

She revealed that the “S” in her name stands for Sharon. She is open about her age, 54 years old, because it shows that she has a history. Joy Behar said she will not reveal her age, because it hurts to say the number. She said it is “so high at this point that it gives me vertigo.”

Lost star Evangeline Lilly appeared on the show. She said that The View is her favorite talk show to be on. She talked about how her apartment in Hawaii, where Lost is filmed, recently “burned to smithereens.” She said that it was an electrical fire and it only took 15 minutes for the whole thing to burn to the ground. Fortunately she and her roommates were not home.

She said that when her mom came to visit last year, she decided to try body surfing in an area with 10 foot waves. Her mom got flattened out on the beach and Evangeline, who was also body surfing, landed on top of her. Evangeline got up and ran, but her mom could not get up, so she got sucked back in by the ocean.

She said that her parents sometimes call her and complain about things she does on Lost. For example, after the steamy scene that her character had with Sawyer, her dad called to say, “Honey, I can’t believe you took your clothes off!”

Evangeline revealed that she had a hard time adjusting to fame. She had a revelation, though, that she doesn’t have to be a slave to fame and say “yes” to everyone. It is still possible for her life to be her own. She said that her life now is not better or worse than before Lost, just “vastly different.”

When asked what she looks for in a man she said that she likes men that are metrosexual and are “a little man, a little woman.” She said that is probably because she is “a little man” and likes getting dirty, working on cars and other projects. She did not mention her co-star Dominic Monaghan, who plays Charlie on the show and is reportedly her real-life boyfriend or fiance, depending on the source of the gossip.

Evangeline said she does not know which man her character will end up with, saying, “Kate is a fickle woman.” She that she does not necessarily think that her going back to save Jack means that she will chose Jack over Sawyer, because she thinks that Kate would have gone back for any of the survivors if they had been left behind. For more on Lost, visit Watching Lost.

The latest segment of “I can’t believe a kid did it,” featured 10 year-old skateboarder Mitch Brusco. He learned to skate when he was three, by watching guys at the park. He competes against adults and has several corporate sponsors, including clothing line zeroxposur and Jones Soda. Elisabeth put on safety gear to learn some skateboard tricks. Mitch said to her, “Your helmet is on backwards.” It was really funny and Rosie joked to Elisabeth, “good luck on the ramp.”

The View, Rosie O’Donnell, S Epatha Merkerson, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, Evangeline Lilly, Lost