Watching The View

Today on The View, Barbara Walters was gone, off on her trip to Paris. Whoopi Goldberg started the show by saying how great Joy Behar did hosting Larry King Live last night. She said it seemed like her show and she should be doing a late night show. Sherri Shepherd said it is difficult to fill in for someone, but that Joy really commands the show well. Elisabeth Hasselbeck said that Joy mentioned that Larry needed a vacation and did it in a respectful way. Joy joked that her brassieres are starting to look like suspenders these days.

Sherri addressed the interview she did with Precious Times which has been making headlines. She said she tried to make jokes during the interview because she was talking about so many painful issues. She said that the comment about Barbara Walters being “saved” was a joke and it didn’t come out like she wanted. She called Barbara in France to apologize and Barbara laughed at the joke and said “I’m already in heaven, I’m in Paris.” Sherri then apologized to Barbara on air. Elisabeth said reading a joke in print may not be funny. Whoopi said sometimes jokes just don’t go the right way you want it to.

She said that when she made the comment about having a lot of abortions, she wanted to inspire other women who have a lot of shame and guilt about abortions and let them know she went through it, too. The woman did not include the full quote in which Sherri said that she suffered from a lot of shame and guilt and she didn’t know how to forgive herself. A woman she met at a women’s conference told her that all of her babies will be waiting for her in heaven saying “Hi Mama” and that freed her and she knew Jesus had forgiven her. She was not trying to be flippant and was not trying to glamorize abortions. Joy said that most women don’t admit to having had abortions, even to their friends. Whoopi said there are many reasons why people make that decision and it is an important conversation to have. She said that as long as you work it out with God, who are we to say anything. Elisabeth said, “There will be a judgment day.”

Estelle Getty, Sophia of The Golden Girls died yesterday. Elisabeth said that she loved the show and Sherri loved how they would talk their problems out over cheesecake. Joy said that the show was revolutionary considering how television is obsessed with young women. Whoopi said that there is ageism. She said that you should want an older woman because she won’t waste your time. She said that is why she likes older men. Elisabeth said, “I knew John McCain was your man!” Whoopi said that older men can teach you things, but she likes younger men don’t take as long. Whoopi said that all men fear “lack of attention.”

Christian Bale was arrested for assaulting his wife (oops) mom and sister. He denies it, so Whoopi said they won’t be talking about it. They had to mention it though, or the audience would be wondering why they didn’t mention it. (Um, not really).

There is a new phone feature called Slydial where you can call someone and go right to their voicemail. Elisabeth said it is revolutionary because you could break up with someone without having to talk to them. Joy said she can’t imagine having to break-up with someone and cannot even fire a housekeeper. Whoopi said that you can’t wait for a man to walk away and you have to take control. Whoopi said that if you tell them face-to-face you will stun them with the truth and they won’t say anything anyhow. Joy said that in 1960, the year Mad Men takes place in, you didn’t break up so easily and most people would not get divorced. Whoopi said people call it is the good old days, but who was it good for? Joy said white men. The only Black person in Mad Men is the elevator operator.

Joy asks if she ever talked about when she was sexually harassed as a school teacher. Whoopi said no. I screamed “Yes!” She told this this story again. Then they talked about wearing girdles and Whoopi demonstrated how difficult it was to put it on.

Reader’s Digest conducted a poll of doctors about what they want to tell patients, but don’t. Among them, if they say lose 15 pounds, they mean 50; they are afraid of being sued; they will spend more time with you if you are better looking. Sherri said you have to look like a hoochie to get attention from the doctor? Elisabeth said that no one looks good in the paper dress. Whoopi said to leave it open in the front. Joy said to go to a female doctor. Sherri has worried if her breasts look good when she had a male doctor. Joy said that when a radiologist was examining her breasts he said, “Have you seen the movie Mrs. Doubtfire?” Whoopi once had a bad experience at a gynecologist’s office where he didn’t warm the equipment before the exam.

A former Bosnian leader who was an indicted war criminal was just captured after many years of freedom and a Nazi war criminal who lived free in Argentina just died. Joy doesn’t believe in karma and thinks people get away with it. They need to be punished now and not later. Sherri said they will get it from God later.

Jon Hamm and John Slattery appeared on the show to promote my new favorite show Mad Men, which airs on AMC. It is about a NYC advertising agency in 1960. Season two of the show begins this Sunday. Slattery is glad he is not a woman on the show because of the clothing. Hamm said they are incredibly lucky because they have seen the racks of clothing. Joy joked that “racks” is a sexual harassment term.

Hamm had to audition six or seven times for the role. It was the first scripted show for AMC and they wanted to make sure they got the right guy. Usually they pick the most famous person who can bring in the most people and he is certainly not that person. Joy said he is now.

Whoopi asked them about the cigarettes they smoke on the show. Slattery said they smoke herbal cigarettes. Joy asked if they learned anything about the 60s from doing the show. Hamm said that Whoopi is right that people call it the “good old days,” and forget the rough patches. The show illuminates those difficulties.

Elisabeth asked what to expect this season. Season two is 18 months later, but they have to keep all the details under wraps. Slattery originally wanted to play Hamm’s role of Don Draper. He took a leap of faith to play the older character and is glad that he did.

The next segment was “medical hot topics” a follow-up to the discussion earlier this week about medical myths, featuring Dr. Steven Lamm. He said he treats patients better if they are engaging, not just because they are good looking.

He said that they are going to talk about evidence-based medicine. He said you don’t need to drink eight glasses of water a day if when you urinate your urine is clear. He said if you are thirsty or are working out, you should drink more. It may promote the metabolic process to help you lose weight, buy you should not feel obligated to drink more. He said that there are psychotic water drinkers who drink too much and almost drink themselves to death.

Lamm said the evidence shows that self breast exams do not lower the mortality rate in women. He does not discourage women from becoming knowledgeable about their breasts, but those who do so in this “obsessive way” get more biopsies than women who don’t. He said that monthly is too often. Whoopi pointed out that his cufflinks were a skull and crossbones. Lamm joked that he is rooting for disease. Whoopi said that a lot of women cannot afford to go to the doctor even if they find something in their breast. Lamm said not to read too much into this and just don’t be obsessive about checking your breasts.

Sherri asked if they are any closer to a female Viagra. Lamm said that there is no magic pill. He said that men need a place and women need a purpose or reason to have sex and no drug is going to give women that purpose. A study showed that Viagra did show some arousal in women who were on antidepressants. He said we have to understand what is libido and what is arousal and determine how much of it is biology. He said part of it could be the partner and just the fact that the guy is a jerk.

He said that Gardasil is to protect women from HPV which can cause some types of cervical cancer. He said that you should keep it under advisement, despite the legal complaints against the medication, because cervical cancer is a serious problem.

The View, Sherri, Shepherd, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Whoopi Goldberg, Mad Men, AMC, John Slattery, Jon Hamm, Viagra, Dr. Lamm, Christian Bale, abortion, Estelle Getty, Golden Girls, Precious Times, Barbara Walters