Watching The View

Elisabeth Hasselbeck talked about running the Revlon Run/Walk, which I wrote about this morning.

Whoopi Goldberg is getting the Spirit of Achievement award. Elisabeth said she saw a photo of Whoopi and her granddaughter in the paper. Whoopi said that she has become more public than she has in the last few years. Barbara’s dog Cha Cha was in the New York Times as part of a review of her book Audition, which is on sale tomorrow.

Barbara’s appearance on Oprah Winfrey will air tomorrow. Barbara said that the story leaked about her affair with Senator Edward Brooke. Sherri said that is the story she loved in the book. Whoopi said that Barbara is the last person she thought would have a deep dark hot affair. She didn’t think of her as attached, but rather as a forerunner for women on television. Sherri said it was “steamy” and Elisabeth said it was “intense” and “a page-turner.” Barbara did not want to talk about it because it will be in the Oprah interview. Joy said to tell The View audience before she tells Oprah! Barbara told him in advance that she was going to reveal the affair in the book. Barbara said that to do the book right, she needed it to be personal, so she included the affair.

“Big Brown” won the Kentucky Derby. Whoopi said that she loves saying that name and Joy said that they can call her that. Whoopi also said that their hearts go out to the owners of runner-up Eight Belles who broke both her ankles and had to be euthanized on the track. PETA is upset because they think that the jockey did something wrong to cause the injury. Joy said that the horse was worth $50 million, more than any of them. Whoopi said “Speak for yourself.” Barbara said that she can’t wait for Whoopi’s book and that she knows some things about her. Joy joked that Whoopi dated a white senator. Barbara said, “close!” Whoopi then joked it was a female. Sherri thought she was serious and asked what chapter that would be in. Whoopi said right after the chapter where she talks about changing from Asian to Black.

Tom Cruise is on Oprah today. Whoopi talked about videos on YouTube where Tom is talking about Scientology and people think he comes off fanatical. Sherri said that she uses certain lingo when talking to Christian groups. There is a video on YouTube where she said that she was in submission to her husband, but it doesn’t mean that he told her what to do. She said that she is not a religious fanatic, but it comes across that way to people not familiar with the lingo. Barbara said that she watches what she says during breaks on the show, because you never know who is recording. Sherri wanted to go to a nude beach on her vacation, but Whoopi told her not to because she will get filmed by someone’s camera phone. Joy said that her objection to being recorded and put on YouTube is that the lighting is bad.

They talked about the gas tax. Whoopi said that the candidates can’t do anything about it because they won’t be in power in the summer. Sherri said that it sounds good to hear when you are paying a lot at the pump. Barbara said that they can say anything that they want. Elisabeth said that they are trying to make a statement. Joy said that if you take the gas tax away, people will use more gas and then more money will go in OPEC’s pocket.

Whoopi tried to take the written test for US citizenship and would have been rejected as a citizen. She asked the panel some of the questions. They got some right and some wrong, with Joy answering first most of the time.

Patricia Heaton was on to talk about her sitcom Back to You. She just turned 50. She said that you have to embrace your age and it is better than the alternative of not having a birthday. Joy said the alternative is not to tell your age. She went with four girlfriends to Maui. She showed a picture of them naked in the hot tub. She went on about her trip for awhile and Barbara said “You aren’t leaving us time to talk about your show.”

To research her part, she watched a lot of news reporters on YouTube. She followed their mannerisms and voice inflections. She said that LA news anchors look like hookers and wear big hoop earrings.

She said that the only part people talked about in her book was the fact that she had a tummy tuck. She looked into doing a talk show, but it is a lot of work. She said that anytime they say anything controversial it blows up all over the place. She wastes a lot of time on the internet for shoes and gossip. Her son didn’t know she was back at work until he saw a billboard for her sitcom. Barbara said, “You know how as a news anchor you have to take a break? We need to do that now.” Patricia laughed and made a talking motion with her hand like she had been talking too much. Barbara said that they would be back with Ricki Lake who talks a lot, too.

Ricki Lake appeared on the show. She was on the cover of US Weekly 9 months ago for weight loss. She kept weight off for about a year, but gained some back. Ricki said that the Post talked about how Elisabeth thinks her own butt is big. Elisabeth said that she told them she has a butt that is a bubble, not a board, but she likes her butt. Ricki is dating a new man who is a restaurateur. It is a new relationship and she likes him a lot.

Her movie The Business of Being Born is out on DVD tomorrow. She appears giving birth in the film. Elisabeth said that she thought of Ricki while giving birth to Taylor, wishing she had done a water birth. The film is about the politics of giving birth.

Ricki says she is an example of a good divorce in that they work together and get along well. She has been independent since she was 18 and has been able to take care of herself.

The View, Patricia Heaton, Ricki Lake, Back To You, Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd, Edward Brooke, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise