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Joy Behar Page
Controversial Pageant Mom Speaks; Republican Rumble; Super Sperm Donor; Madonna`s Mess; Interview With Sherri Shepherd
Aired September 08, 2011 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: Coming up on "THE JOY BEHAR SHOW", controversy rages after a 3-year-old on "Toddlers and Tiaras" dressed up as Julia Roberts` hooker character from "Pretty Woman". The mother and daughter are here to defend the decision.
Then a sperm donor has 150 offspring and now sperm banks are worried about the chances of surprise incest as a result. Joy has the bizarre details.
Plus with the tabloids saying Joy`s surprise wedding stole Sherri Shepherd`s wedding thunder, Sherri is here to set the record straight.
That and more starting right now.
BEHAR: A child`s beauty pageants take a lot of heat as it is but when 3-year-old Paisley was shown on TLC`s "Toddlers and Tiaras" dressed as a fictional prostitute, even pageant supporters thought it crossed a line. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here comes "Pretty Woman". Paisley --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: With me now to defend the decision to dress her 3- year-old in this costume is Wendy Dickey and she`s joined by her daughter, Paisley.
Ok. Wendy, why did you think it was a good idea to dress up your daughter as a fictional prostitute?
WENDY DICKEY, MOTHER OF 3-YEAR-OLD PAISLEY: Well when we sat down for the pageant they had an outfit of choice where you could dress as whatever celebrity you wanted to dress as. And as I was trying to figure out what to do with Paisley, everybody that I was thinking of was blonde.
So Julia Roberts happens to be my favorite actress of all time, so I decided to go with Julia Roberts. And, of course, my favorite Julia Roberts` movie is "Pretty Woman". So I tried to figure out which kind of character I could do "Pretty Woman" to be nonsexual, just funny, hilarious, comical, and this is the routine that I came up with.
But at the end of the routine that was shown, Paisley went behind the prop and we did a really, really quick change of outfit and she put on the reformed Julia Roberts in the brown and white polka dot and came back out and did the rest of the pageant and it was very comical.
BEHAR: Yes.
DICKEY: Maybe I didn`t give it as much thought as I should have but it was meant to be and actually was hilarious. It was the funniest thing I`ve ever seen.
BEHAR: Paisley, do you -- does she have any idea she was dressed up as a prostitute.
DICKEY: She would not put an ear piece in so I`ll have to ask her. Paisley, when you did your outfit with your wig, do you know who you were?
PAISLEY DICKEY, "TODDLERS AND TIARA": Yes.
WENDY DICKEY: Who were you?
PAISLEY DICKEY: Miss Julia Roberts.
WENDY DICKEY: Miss Julia Roberts. Do you know what kind of outfit you had on?
PAISLEY DICKEY: A wig and --
WENDY DICKEY: Paisley has no idea what the outfit represented. None of the other kids there at the pageant did either. Put your baby down, ok?
It was meant to be comical. Everyone there at the pageant got it. They saw the entire routine. Hey, you need to stop, ok.
BEHAR: Tell me -- but Wendy, can you understand why there`s so much controversy with so many pervs and pedophiles out there. It`s really the perception. She looks cute but it`s the perception that she`s dressed up as a hooker that really is making everybody`s hair stand up, you understand? Do you get that?
WENDY DICKEY: I do get that. It`s more perception than anything else. If you look at her she`s completely covered up.
BEHAR: I know.
WENDY DICKEY: To me, she`s not sexualized at all. People there at the pageant had no idea who she was going to be until she came out and they played the "Pretty Woman" song. As far as pedophiles, you know, people go to the beach and they put their girls in bikinis, their little girls, their 10-year-olds, their 15-year-olds and, you know, I think there would be a possibility of more pedophiles at the beach than at a pageant.
BEHAR: They`re at the beach but their mothers are right there with them and they`re not flaunting it on television where you have a vast array of different kinds of people out there that you really can`t even predict who is watching.
There`s another girl on TLC`s "Toddlers and Tiaras" who donned fake boobs and a butt to dress as Dolly Parton. Let`s watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think the little girls in the pageant know who Dolly is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Ok, you know it`s funny but, you know, again we`re putting big boobs on a 3-year-old child, do you think that`s ok?
WENDY DICKEY: Well, I did see the Dolly. I personally thought it was hilarious. Again, I thought she was a very cute one. At the same pageant that we were at there was a little girl dressed as Marilyn Monroe who was also extremely cute but, what more of a sex figure than Marilyn Monroe?
But I do realize, I think it was the whole concept behind Paisley`s outfit and not so much as the outfit. But you know, when you take your children to movies there`s always adult humor in the movies that the children don`t get, you hope they don`t get and they should not know what it`s talking about and this was along the same lines. I wish people had seen the entire routine, I think they would have -- the pageant, I think they would have got it.
BEHAR: Yes.
WENDY DICKEY: Because it was really hysterical and if you watch on the show you can see the judges and everyone at the pageant, they were laughing hysterically and there was nothing sexual about it but I do realize it was the concept.
BEHAR: Ok. And another girl was dressed as Madonna`s cone bra. I don`t know, do you consider that appropriate? Where exactly do you draw the line? Is there any costume that you would say, I would not little Paisley in?
WENDY DICKEY: Well, I did see the little Madonna and I thought it was cute. And I think with these girls being so little that they can get away with more. I would never consider dressing Paisley if she was 10 years old. I would never consider this outfit. Again, they`re just costumes.
People are going to dress their kids in devils and vampires or worse for Halloween. But they are what they are. You don`t want your child to grow up to be a devil or a blood-sucking vampire but they`re costumes. It`s a dramatic feature and it`s an event.
BEHAR: I know. But the reason it triggers people`s anxiety is because it`s a little girl dressed as an adult, as a woman. We`ve seen a lot of stuff on "Toddlers and Tiaras" where the girls are all parading around in these very sexualized costumes and we know there are crazy pervs out there. And we worry about the children, basically.
You know, the Parents Television Council released a statement, slamming you and "Toddlers and Tiaras". And this is what they said, "For years we`ve seen adult sexuality being inappropriately and aggressively forced on innocent, young children but children today are being sexualized at younger and younger ages. All available data suggests that they will suffer for it later in life."
My question to you is do you worry that your daughter will have issues later because of this and maybe she might blame you, even?
WENDY DICKEY: I absolutely don`t think that this will have any impact on Paisley when she gets older. I think she`ll see the comedy in it as far as anybody would who sees the entire routine. Again, you know, going back to the pedophile, most pedophiles and molestations are cases of people who know the children. They`re distant family or relatives or friends or neighbors.
When we`re at a pageant our girls never leave our sight. They never leave our hands. They go to the stage and they come right back to us. It`s the same thing when you`re at the beach. I`ll go back to that again. There may be a pedophile sitting right next to you watching your daughter.
What do you do? You keep your eyes on your children. You never, ever take your eyes off your children. But I do not think the pageants are a breeding ground for pedophiles at all.
BEHAR: Well, it`s not just that it`s a breeding ground. It sort of gives license to watch this type of thing. That`s what we`re saying. They`re on the Internet watching these pictures of kids and now they`re watching it on television. It kind of just puts more of this creepy vibe in the air for these guys.
People are a little creeped out by it. Will you use this costume again or are you throwing it out? What are you going to do?
WENDY DICKEY: No. We definitely will not use it again. Had we known it would have caused this much controversy I would have never considered it. If people had gotten the humor it wouldn`t have been such a big deal. But no, we will not be using it again.
BEHAR: What will you be using?
WENDY DICKEY: Paisley`s done everything from mermaids to "Pebbles Flintstone". We were featured on the show a few weeks when she was "Pebbles Flintstone". And again, she has no idea who that was, so. I`m very creative.
BEHAR: Yes.
WENDY DICKEY: So we`ll come up with something better.
And you talk about crossing the line --
BEHAR: You know what I suggest. Can I just suggest one of the Marx Brothers.
WENDY DICKEY: I like it. I like it.
BEHAR: No pedophile will be turned on that. Trust and believe.
WENDY DICKEY: I think we`ll be an angel at the next pageant.
BEHAR: Groucho or any of them. Put her in one of those costumes. Thanks Wendy and thanks Paisley.
We`ll be right back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up next on the JOY BEHAR SHOW, news of a single sperm donor fathering more than 150 offspring now has sperm banks worried about the possibility of accidental incest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: The sparks were flying at last night`s presidential debate. Mitt Romney and Rick Perry traded barbs over everything from Social Security to job creation. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Michael Dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did Mitt.
MITT ROMNEY, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, as a matter of fact, George Bush and his predecessor created jobs at a faster rate than you did, Governor.
PERRY: That`s -- that`s not correct.
ROMNEY: Texas has a lot of oil and gas in the ground, those are wonderful things but Governor Perry doesn`t believe that he created those things. If he tried to say that it would be like Al Gore saying he invented the Internet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Oh they`re like -- you what it`s like -- it`s like watching two underwear models fight over who has tighter abs.
DANNY BONADUCE, COMEDIAN: It was like the Catskills comics they`re still doing those jokes. It`s like doing O.J. jokes.
BEHAR: I haven`t introduced you yet, Danny. Danny I haven`t introduced you yet.
BONADUCE: I don`t need an introduction. You know those people that you say, that man needs no introduction. I`m not God.
BEHAR: That was Danny Bonaduce, and that`s Danny Bonaduce, this is Kevin Meaney, comedian Kevin Meaney, Rachel Sklar, editor-at-large for Mediaite.com and Danny Bonaduce.
BONADUCE: Thank you.
BEHAR: Well, ok guys. But you know what, Romney, Perry, Huntsman or Bachmann, who`s the prettiest one Kevin?
KEVIN MEANEY, COMEDIAN: Well, nobody has asked Rick Perry if he`s -- if he`s gay, you know, and there`s all of these rumors that he`s gay.
BEHAR: You think Rick Perry is gay?
MEANEY: Yes.
BEHAR: Why based on what?
MEANEY: I looked on the Internet today --
BEHAR: Oh and say who?
MEANEY: -- and there`s -- there`s all of these rumors that he`s gay and he`s an alleged adulterer. So they should have asked him, Rick Perry, are you gay?
BEHAR: But adultery that`s a prerequisite for this -- for
(CROSSTALK)
MEANEY: Yes that`s true, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
BONADUCE: First of all --
(CROSSTALK)
MEANEY: Because he goes -- he goes to all the strip clubs they said and he`s got lots of money.
BEHAR: I know he has lots of money -- I didn`t know that.
BONADUCE: I don`t think --
(CROSSTALK)
MEANEY: He doesn`t have the money -- he doesn`t have the money but -- he gets the money that he --
BONADUCE: I don`t think that Rick Perry is gay.
(CROSSTALK)
MEANEY: No he`s -- no it`s true.
BONADUCE: He kisses like he`s gay but I don`t think he`s gay.
BEHAR: How do you know? Rachel, do you think this is true?
RACHEL SKLAR, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, MEDIATE.COM: I have no knowledge of how Rick Perry kisses --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Neither do I.
SKLAR: But he does have excellent hair. They all have excellent hair, that`s all --
(CROSSTALK)
BONADUCE: Mitt Romney, yes he looks like a president. Come on when you look at Mitt Romney you`re going there`s the next president.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: I think he dyes his hair.
SKLAR: When I listen to him I don`t think that.
BEHAR: Don`t you think Romney -- you know Romney does the hair like the color and then the white on the sides?
MEANEY: Yes he puts a little white on the side. I do the same thing. I have a little bit of the white on the sides.
BONADUCE: But you know who used to do that? Obama used to do that.
BEHAR: Wait a second.
BONADUCE: He used to put gray in his hair so he look a little mature and then he took it out and now he`s got real great hair. The president is not that great of a gig.
BEHAR: Ok, no Perry compared himself to Galileo. Do you remember this part?
SKLAR: Actually Perry compared global warming and the scientists calling -- warning about global warming to Galileo and when he was trying to --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: No but he -- he`s identified with Galileo because Galileo was the minority against all the brilliant -- the stupid scientists. And he`s saying he`s the minority on global warming and evolution and the scientists are wrong. That`s what he was --
MEANEY: What is the Pope saying about it? Because Pope Urban the VIII -- when Galileo was in -- he spent a lot of money.
(CROSSTALK)
SKLAR: Oh wow.
BONADUCE: The Pope?
MEANEY: Yes and he was --
BEHAR: Urban gay?
MEANEY: Yes, oh was gay.
BEHAR: Ok.
MEANEY: Did you ever see the Popes in Rome? They`re very small. They have all the crypts, you know you can look down into the crypt and see the popes and they`re --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Ok.
MEANEY: -- tiny little -- tiny little babies.
(CROSSTALK)
SKLAR: I think --
BEHAR: Go ahead Rachel.
SKLAR: -- this -- this is a very good evidence of the fact that Rick Perry`s argument against global warming didn`t exactly work.
BEHAR: No, it did not.
MEANEY: No it didn`t work.
BEHAR: But I mean every scientist in the world says we`re in the problem -- we have a problem with climate change but Rick Perry says no.
(CROSSTALK)
SKLAR: Well, the state is on fire.
BONADUCE: The fact -- the fact that you can see the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and you haven`t been able to see it in 40 years not covered in snow leads me to believe there`s global warming.
BEHAR: Ok.
BONADUCE: I`m no scientist but I can see the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.
MEANEY: You are a scientist Danny.
BEHAR: Ok, now what about the fact that he referred to Social Security as a Ponzi scheme? What do you think of that?
MEANEY: Well, I think that you know if it is a Ponzi scheme we should have Bernie Madoff run it.
BEHAR: Right.
MEANEY: You know because -- he was the -- he was the big Ponzi. And Charles Ponzi, who actually started the Ponzi scheme, you know, they`re -- you know they`re family.
BEHAR: Was he gay also?
MEANEY: He was gay. Charles Ponzi was very gay.
BONADUCE: He was a duck.
SKLAR: Someone hit the Wikipedia before --
(CROSSTALK)
MEANEY: I did not hit the Wikipedia. How dare you.
BONADUCE: By the way Charles Ponzi did not invent the Ponzi scheme. It was just named after him. Charles Dickens talks about the exact same scheme.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Charles Dickens the writer?
BONADUCE: Yes. Years before that, it`s just -- then finally when they decided what to call it, it was the last guy doing it and said, hey, let`s call it this and named it after Charles Ponzi.
BEHAR: Do you think --
(CROSSTALK)
MEANEY: And his family is very proud that, you know --
BEHAR: All right, Rachel.
SKLAR: I`m going to be the straight man here. I don`t think that`s a winning argument.
(CROSSTALK)
BONADUCE: No.
SKLAR: I think that -- I think that Rick Perry will have a very difficult time getting popular support in the Republican Party and the general populace for doing away with Social Security.
BEHAR: Well exactly. Now, he`s pissed Florida, let me tell you something.
Ok, now do you think Obama was watching last night?
SKLAR: I don`t know.
MEANEY: He was playing basketball.
BONADUCE: I`m going to tell you what; of course, he was. I mean, his -- his numbers are way down. But I don`t think that that puts him out of touch with, say, hey, what are these guys doing? Because it looks like -- I thought he was a shoo-in for a two-term presidency and now I don`t believe that anymore. I think he`s going to have a fight on his hands.
BEHAR: All right, let`s do another topic.
Now do you know what a super dad is, ok -- a sperm donor who ends up fathering tons and tons of kids. One donor has 150 kids, 150 sperm donations. Hello? Can we say carpal tunnel syndrome?
(CROSSTALK)
MEANEY: You know I should have -- if I would have been a sperm donor.
BEHAR: Yes.
MEANEY: Back in the day, I would have had way more than 150 kids.
BEHAR: Why?
MEANEY: Because I mean, a lot of my sperm is no longer here.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Where is it?
BONADUCE: Not --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Ok.
BONADUCE: I needed the money and I sold blood. I sold plasma. I need the money.
(CROSSTALK)
SKLAR: You get another way that men have opportunities women do not.
BEHAR: I know.
(CROSSTALK)
MEANEY: Did you ever sell your eggs?
SKLAR: I never have.
BEHAR: Excuse me.
BONADUCE: What they`re worried about is that dating your own cousin or relatives.
BEHAR: Yes.
BONADUCE: But you`re passing around your neck, you`re passing around gene. This guy has done it 150 times. If you walk up to somebody and they look really attractive but they`ve got a right arm like Popeye, they might be your cousin.
BEHAR: What about your -- forget your cousin, your brother, your sister, it could be.
MEANEY: Yes.
BEHAR: It`s not even your cousin. What`s the problem?
MEANEY: That`s why you have to have the number. You know they have the semen number that I -- which --
BONADUCE: Well said, Kevin.
MEANEY: Yes.
BONADUCE: We`ll have the numbers.
SKLAR: Someone has looked at the Wikipedia?
MEANEY: No, I didn`t, they sent us the information.
SKLAR: I know I`m just kidding.
BEHAR: Ok, you want to do another story.
BONADUCE: Yes.
SKLAR: No I want to talk more about the semen number.
BONADUCE: Yes.
BEHAR: At a press conference for her new film, W.E., Madonna was caught dissing a fan`s gift. Let`s watch that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADONNA, SINGER: Thank you.
I absolutely loathe hydrangeas; he obviously doesn`t know that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O`REILLY: Ok Madonna, shouldn`t she be grateful that someone has given her without saying "I loathe them. Obviously he doesn`t know that."
MEANEY: Yes.
BEHAR: In a British accent, by the way.
MEANEY: I absolutely hate hydrangeas.
BEHAR: Yes.
BONADUCE: And it`s hydrangeas; first, I don`t think she should be allowed to have flowers at all. I read her book and she said she was de- flowered at 13. That means you don`t get anymore. That`s it, once you`re deflowered you don`t get anymore.
BEHAR: She will not apologize for the slight.
BONADUCE: She also won`t apologize for the Nazi sympathizers at the end of her movie that she makes reference to.
BEHAR: Well, let`s explain what that is when we come back because b there`s more on the story about Madonna.
So stay right there.
BONADUCE: I`ve had it up to here with Madonna.
BEHAR: Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with my panel.
Now in the end credits of her new movie Madonna thanks anti-Semitic John Galileo and Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, who`s dead. Why did she thank them? I don`t. Did Spielberg thank Hitler for "Schindler`s List"? I don`t know why she thanks them.
BONADUCE: First of all, he`s not dead enough. Let`s just get that out there.
BEHAR: But I mean why thank these two Nazis.
BONADUCE: I can`t understand why she would do it. It can`t be good for her in any sort of way. The Galliano thing was just bizarre because there`s Galliano.
BEHAR: John Galliano.
BONADUCE: Oh, Galliano.
(CROSSTALK)
MEANEY: He`s also named after a cheap wine.
Um1 But the fact is here`s what he said. He was talking to two Jewish young ladies, I believe, and he said "I love Hitler. If it weren`t for Hitler, if Hitler was still with us your parents would have never been born. They would have been gassed and I wouldn`t have to talk to you." How can she thank that man? It`s outrageous.
BEHAR: Particularly if she`s into the Kabbalah and she thinks that she`s Jewish in some sense.
MEANEY: Yes.
SKLAR: Right.
BONADUCE: Maybe she should pull that string around her wrist a little tighter until the circulation cuts off.
MEANEY: But she loves this controversy. She`s always been very controversial. Maybe she`s getting into this whole Hitler thing, you know.
BEHAR: Well, I understand that in the movie "W.E." is about Wallace Simpson and her husband King Edward who abdicated.
BONADUCE: Great story. Great story.
BEHAR: And they were Nazi sympathizers.
BONADUCE: Yes.
BEHAR: Everybody knows this.
MEANEY: Right.
BEHAR: And she white-washed this in the movie. What is up with her?
Uf1 Hates hydrangeas and loves Hitler.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Danny, do you think they should boycott the film in Israel or the Upper Westside?
(CROSSTALK)
BONADUCE: Very possibly but I think you`re trying to make a romantic comedy about a man who abdicated, the king of England to marry a three-time divorced American?
BEHAR: No beauty. She must have done something really well.
BONADUCE: And no beauty, she must have done something really well.
(CROSSTALK)
BONADUCE: Wallace Simpson must have done something just right but it`s a romantic story and I think that they were sympathizers. It was hard not to be a sympathizer at some point.
SKLAR: It`s hard to be a sympathizer at this point and that`s why I think we`re seeing --
(CROSSTALK)
BONADUCE: Very nicely said but he was a sympathizer then and when they come to your house in their jack boots and their black shirts they say, sympathetic? You say, yes.
BEHAR: The movie is getting bad reviews. I think that`s her problem. She`s trying to juice it up with something.
MEANEY: And you know that lady -- she loves hydrangeas.
BEHAR: Well, there you go.
Now, one more topic: a new poll find a whopping 80 percent of people admitted they talk dirty to their partners during sex.
SKLAR: That`s (EXPLETIVE DELETED) hot.
BEHAR: What do you scream? Danny, do you scream -- I used to be in "The Partridge Family"?
BONADUCE: Only when I`m having sex with Keith. As a matter of fact, I have just started talking dirty in bed and I kind of like it. And personally I didn`t get -- personally saw a new poll says people like sex. I said, my old poll likes sex very fine.
The dirty talk I actually do. My wife is much younger than I. Not young enough to be disgusting. She`s a schoolteacher.
MEANEY: "Toddlers and Tiaras"
BONADUCE: But she says -- I will have you know she does not own a tiara. No, she`s a schoolteacher. She`s 29 years old. But we have added some talk and I like it a lot.
MEANEY: Dirty talk?
BEHAR: So what about you, Rachel, do you talk dirty in bed?
SKLAR: I already told you before my parents watch this show when I`m on so I`m just going to say, if 80 percent of the people choose to express themselves freely in that way, then leave it off.
BONADUCE: I`ve got a question. Would you like to talk dirty in bed?
BEHAR: Are you coming on to her? He`s coming after you.
SKLAR: Do you want my dad to come out here?
BEHAR: Thank you guys.
BONADUCE: I think it`s going to be worth it.
BEHAR: We have to go. But we`ll be back in a minute with Sherri Shepherd.
Thank you.
MEANEY: Thank you Joy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: You know, last month my "View" co-host, Sherri Shepherd and I got married. Not to each other, to our spousal equivalents. Sherri had cameras follow her as she planned her big day for an upcoming special on the Style Network. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERRI SHEPHERD: Mikey is the most amazing wedding planner known to man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the bad news.
SHEPHERD: That was all the good news, it was?
Until he gives you the bill. You got to be [ bleep ] ing me.
Oh, my gosh! Oh shoot! I got to get another job!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: And you wonder why I had only six guests at Chuck E. Cheese. Joining me to talk about her special wedding -- a special wedding, fabulous. Sherri Shepherd gets married. How it goes?
SHEPHERD: That`s how it goes.
BEHAR: My fellow newlywed and my fellow co-host at "The View" Ms. Sherri Shepherd.
SHEPHERD: Hello. I`m waving now, ring first. I got it on wrong, I got to put it on the right way.
BEHAR: Yes.
SHEPHERD: Because I think the band is supposed to be closest to your heart.
BEHAR: Oh, I see.
SHEPHERD: Yeah.
BEHAR: How did you like Kardashian -- Kim Kardashian`s ring?
SHEPHERD: Did you see? Kim Kardashian`s ring - it looked like a man was sitting on her finger. It was ...
BEHAR: A bald man.
SHEPHERD: A bald man. Joy, I`m sitting there and I wanted to cover mine -- because first of all, I`m so proud of my ring and I`m like -- but it`s, you know, I was blinded by the blink on her ring and Khloe Kardashian.
BEHAR: Yes.
SHEPHERD: But see, that`s what you get when you marry a ballplayer.
BEHAR: That`s right.
SHEPHERD: Because if you would marry (ph) in a plumber you would getting that.
BEHAR: No, you might. Plumbers charge a lot of money.
SHEPHERD: Oh, that`s right, they`re in the union. That`s right.
BEHAR: Yes.
SHEPHERD: You get a union man.
BEHAR: OK, so now, before we go on any further, I want to set the record straight, because we got married two days apart.
SHEPHERD: Two days apart.
BEHAR: And some of the press had a field day. The "National Enquirer" for example.
SHEPHERD: They did an article.
BEHAR: They wrote this -- Sherri Shepherd is fuming that her "View" co-host Joy Behar stole her thunder by secretly getting married the same week as Sherri`s much-hyped wedding. So Sherri, tell me now, were you fuming?
SHEPHERD: I was so upset, girl, that you got married at the same time as -- you know good and well I have been planning my wedding for a whole year. Girl, I don`t know where that voice is, don`t even twit me. Girl, now, I was not upset. As a matter of fact, when you told us ...
BEHAR: I guess ...
SHEPHERD: Before we left, I was so excited for you because you were so anti-marriage and I was so excited that you took your commitment to the next level. And I was like, now you can give see more sex than on the holidays, so I was happy for you. Like everybody don`t know that.
BEHAR: What do you mean? It was restricted to Jewish holidays. You are saying I should expand it to catholic holidays?
SHEPHERD: Absolutely.
BEHAR: Oh my god!
SHEPHERD: Absolutely!
BEHAR: Yes.
SHEPHERD: That was really -- no, I`m very, very excited for you.
BEHAR: Yes.
SHEPHERD: And as a matter of fact, we got more publicity because we were both married ...
BEHAR: That`s right.
SHEPHERD: ... at the same time than we would have got ...
BEHAR: Then why it was the secret? They say I upstaged Sherri. How could I upstage you? You took a picture on top of a bus in your wedding gown. How I can possibly top that?
SHEPHERD: You could not have that.
BEHAR: Exactly.
SHEPHERD: Not at all. Congratulations.
BEHAR: OK, then let`s talk about -- thank you, (inaudible). So what`s about your wedding?
SHEPHERD: Yes.
BEHAR: Was it everything you dreamed it would be? Were your happy?
SHEPHERD: It was great. Jeffrey walked me down the aisle.
BEHAR: Yes.
SHEPHERD: I was really proud of Elizabeth because, you know, she can make the rehearsals for the dance and so, she danced like she was on "soul train." I mean she works it out and I was really ...
BEHAR: You know what -- Since she`s hooked up with you she thinks she`s black. I mean Elizabeth -- she`s no longer just a Republican, she`s a black - she`s a log cabin Republican.
SHEPHERD: Yes, she is. She`s a black girl at heart. But you know what -- I was really -- because you know, I invited Prince. I has Prince if he could sing at my wedding.
BEHAR: The prince formerly known as prince?
SHEPHERD: You know -- that one, right there. I asked him if he could sing at my wedding and they actually e-mailed me back, his camp and they said, we`ll, you know, we`ll consider it are you going to pay Prince? What could I give Prince.
BEHAR: I don`t know, nothing.
SHEPHERD: To make -- I said we`ll give some food and a hotel room. That`s all I could give you.
BEHAR: But did you really think - Are you friends with him?
SHEPHERD: Well, I`m not friends with him. You know, but I watch him on TV.
BEHAR: Oh, I see.
SHEPHERD: I mean you know, if you don`t dream for the sky -- if you don`t -- you know, it was like my biggest wish ...
BEHAR: Yes.
SHEPHERD: And so we`re standing there and join -- the reverend is like, you know, we have a special guest. We have a special guest -- and he kept saying it and I was like, oh my god, if Prince comes I`m ripping my wedding gown right now. I swear to gosh. But it wasn`t Prince. It was like a choir from a church, and they brought Jesus. I was happy, I mean ...
BEHAR: Yeah.
SHEPHERD: Prince.
BEHAR: And Jesus comes free. You don`t have to pay Jesus
SHEPHERD: Yeah, you`ve got to pay ...
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: So, what about the wedding night? Was -- you know, because I know the celibacy thing was a big thing with you.
SHEPHERD: Yes, so.
BEHAR: It actually worked, by the way. Everybody listening?
SHEPHERD: Yes.
BEHAR: Celibate throughout the entire engagement.
SHEPHERD: Yes, so it was about ...
BEHAR: And why were you celibate for the entire?
SHEPHERD: Because you know, I am a Christian, I was trying to get back to, you know, not doing it, I wanted to do -- be a good girl and wait and Sal was so wonderful because he went along with it, he didn`t necessarily agree. As a matter of fact, he said it was stupid.
BEHAR: Yeah.
SHEPHERD: But he went along with it. So. He agreed and he did it and I was so excited. So, you know, at the end of 11 months, you know, he looked at me and I said, Sal, I`m a little tired. And he said you better get in that room and take your clothes off so -- it`s been very nice.
BEHAR: Sal is here. Sal is here. Sal? Sal and I, we both have that sex glow. Don`t you love it? Yeah, because he`s getting it on a regular. They`re trying to get a shot of you but it`s almost like your in the witness protection program. It`s OK. Come on back. We`re in the light. Yeah. But, I mean, not for nothing, Sherri. I know your history. You`re like Bristol Palin suddenly being abstinent. It`s a little late.
SHEPHERD: But you know, I still want to try -- it`s never too late for anything.
BEHAR: Here you go.
SHEPHERD: You know, you were technically a virgin too. And then you lost it once you got married. When ...
BEHAR: That`s true, you mean when I first got -- the first marriage.
SHEPHERD: The first marriage and then ...
BEHAR: I was a technical virgin, we used to call them.
SHEPHERD: A technical virgin?
BEHAR: You figure out what that means. I`d say now, now, did you at least, you know, did you for the years -- the months that you were not doing it, did you practice faking it to do ...
SHEPHERD: No. You know what we got to do? This is a great thing because we were not doing anything, We really got to bond and we talked a lot. We talked about our hopes, we talked about our dreams.
BEHAR: That`s nice.
SHEPHERD: I mean look at you, that`s nice.
BEHAR: No, I mean that.
SHEPHERD: Yes.
BEHAR: I think that`s good.
SHEPHERD: We did. so now it`s like we got that bonding in and because we were not doing anything else. So it was nice.
BEHAR: So you became friends before you were lovers.
SHEPHERD: Absolutely. Now we`re lovers, forget the friendship. It`s all over.
BEHAR: Now, so tell me about the special.
SHEPHERD: So, the special is called "Wedding Fabulous: Sherri Shepherd Gets Married." And the reason why we recorded this is because Sal is just a really funny guy. And I`m funny. We like to laugh all the time. And I think there`s no drama on the special.
BEHAR: Yes.
SHEPHERD: It`s just -- I just wanted to show people what was it was like getting prepared to get married, and you know, I wanted to show people just a little fun.
BEHAR: Do they call you bridezilla?
SHEPHERD: I only got bridezilla about our bridal dance. That was it. Because what we do in the bridal dance, every -- you know, Elizabeth was like, I was waiting (ph) for an hour, and this one was like, well, I got to dance with him. And I said look here, this is going to go byra (ph). I don`t want us to look old and fat. Not you, Elizabeth, I don`t want us to look old and fat, and we get it together, so yes, I was a bridezilla.
BEHAR: I was impressed with the dancing. They`re showing it now. You guys were great. Sal, very good. I really didn`t expect it to be that coordinated when I saw the rehearsal.
SHEPHERD: I know. It looked bad at the rehearsal, but you know what, we got it together. I was so proud of them. They carried it off. And then we had our stripper. Elizabeth got my stripper for me at my bachelorette party. Girl, Joy, the stripper--
BEHAR: Elizabeth got the stripper? I never heard this before.
SHEPHERD: They got my stripper. Because you know I kept asking for chocolate thunder. You see that? Girl, turn me over. Look at that stripper. Look at him.
BEHAR: That`s one good Christian wedding.
SHEPHERD: I didn`t know we were going to have --
BEHAR: Was Jesus in the room at that point?
SHEPHERD: I think he left with Elizabeth. Because Elizabeth left, my girlfriend Yvette left and Cindy and Vanda left. So the good girls left the room. And then it was so funny because all the big girls, my sisters and bridesmaids, whoever -- big girls love strippers. They were like, come on. Get on over here. So we had a very fun, fun time.
BEHAR: Sounds like a ball. Sorry I couldn`t make it.
SHEPHERD: That`s OK.
BEHAR: So anyway, wish you all the luck in the world. Hope you last as long as we did before we got married. And have a wonderful honeymoon. You had the honeymoon already, right?
SHEPHERD: We had the honeymoon and now we`re working on the baby.
BEHAR: Really?
SHEPHERD: Yes.
BEHAR: How old are you now?
SHEPHERD: I`m in my 40s. So I`m looking for somebody to carry this baby. You ain`t doing nothing if your uterus is free.
BEHAR: Me? What do I look like? Are you crazy? I`ll baby sit, but not in my uterus.
"Wedding Fabulous: Sherri Shepherd Gets Married" premieres Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. on the Style network. We`ll be back in a minute.
SHEPHERD: Thank you, mama!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: The tenth anniversary of 9/11 ceremony at ground zero is this Sunday, and a lot of people are outraged that no members of the clergy have been invited. Joining me to talk about this are Father Edward Beck, who is the religion contributor for ABC News and the host of "The Sunday Mass" on the ABC Family Channel. Imam Johari Abdul-Malik is the outreach director of Dar al-Hijrah Islam center. Did I say that wrong? Wrong?
IMAM JOHARI ABDUL-MALIK, DAR AL-HIJRAH ISLAMIC CENTER: Yes. Hijrah.
BEHAR: I`m sorry, OK. And Rabbi -- already I`m going to hell -- and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who is the author of "Ten Conversations You Need to Have With Yourself."
Welcome, gentlemen, to the show. OK, now, Father Beck, no religious representatives have been invited to the ceremony. What do you make of that?
EDWARD BECK, ABC NEWS RELIGION CONTRIBUTOR: It`s strange, right? First of all, the first recorded victim of this terrorist attack, a Catholic priest, Father Mychal Judge, first recorded victim. Also, in the weeks after that attack, religion was so important to people. I remember saying mass, they were filled, the churches. People were searching for meaning, finding it in their faith. This is what is important to people at a time like this. So why would you exclude people?
By the way, this is from a mayor who`s very vociferous about his support of Park 51, the mosque, saying it is all about religious freedom, people should be able to express themselves freely with regard to their religion, and now he seems to be silencing it. To me it gives into what these attackers wanted. They wanted only their religious voice, none other--
BEHAR: That was a religious voice, though. It`s ironic, isn`t it?
BECK: A fanatical religious voice. And now we have no religious voice at the ceremony.
ABDUL-MALIK: I`m really at another place. I think that this might even be bigger than what we call religious leaders. People who say -- do you follow this rabbi, do you follow this priest? Or is this really bigger than that? I think on some level, I hate so say it, you have a big event like this. You`ve got high profile ministers, and they all want to have an opportunity to take the stage. I mean, we all do our pastoral work.
BEHAR: What are you saying? They should or should not?
ABDUL-MALIK: I think on some level I think maybe, from the inside track, the bickering between faith leaders with all jockeying for their moment in the sun, is also part of this problem. I think the mayor (inaudible) just by saying, all you guys or none of you guys.
(CROSSTALK)
RABBI SHMULEY BOTEACH: You have to speak for yourself, because of all my many virtues, the one that sticks out the most is my humility. So I`m not jockeying for any kind of position here, but I think it`s absolutely disgusting that they have excluded religious leadership. 92 percent of Americans believe in God. This was a religious attack on the United States, and the exact thing they need to hear are religious leaders that actually don`t just tolerate and stomach each other, but feel enriched through conversation. We have these conversations on your show. Nobody hurts anyone else. Sometimes I get stared down by Father Beck`s baby blue eyes -- which are kind of scary, I have to admit. But it is an enriching conversation. And the fact that Mayor Bloomberg wants to exclude New Yorkers from that is -- it`s deplorable.
ABDUL-MALIK: I don`t think you look at -- this is the mayor who defended Park 51. So I don`t think he`s opposed to religion --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Which religions should be represented? There is a lot more--
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Every single one?
BECK: Symbolically. They don`t have to say something. Can`t they just be standing there as an image of solidarity and unity of faith?
BOTEACH: Why should politicians say something when that`s not really the issue? It was not a political attack. I`m not saying that every religion should be there. I don`t know if the Druids have to be present, for example. But the fact is that Christians, Jews, Muslims--
BEHAR: What do you have against the Druids?
BOTEACH: You know, the Druids cast a spell on me to be short.
BEHAR: You say it wasn`t a political attack? I think it was a political attack.
BOTEACH: No. It was a religious attack. It was an attack on the part of those who believe that their religion is correct and they have to impose it on others, and they think the West is undermining Islam.
ABDUL-MALIK: Yes, but I don`t think they represent Islam in any way.
BECK: But you remember two weeks after, the prayer for America at Yankee Stadium? That was a beautiful ceremony, all religious faiths represented, an occasion to pray, to remember and to be healed. Why can`t something like that take place at this important memoriative (ph) event?
BEHAR: OK. Let me ask something else. There`s a ground zero cross that they made out of --
BECK: They didn`t make it. It was forged on its own.
ABDUL-MALIK: When you look at the early pictures, you`ll find from the wreckage --
BEHAR: It looks like a cross.
BECK: It is a cross. It was left standing that way.
BEHAR: But now it`s more than a cross, right? Now--
BECK: That`s just how they found it.
BEHAR: Really?
BECK: That`s my understanding.
BEHAR: So anyway --
BOTEACH: Why couldn`t they find like a giant Mogen David there as well, but--
BEHAR: A few more beams, make--
(CROSSTALK)
BECK: It`s going to be in the museum, as well.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: It`s not a cross or a star, what is the thing for you--
ABDUL-MALIK: I don`t think this is really about -- because I`m a minority religion here, I don`t think that --
BOTEACH: There`s two Jews in the whole world. There`s a billion of you guys, man. I mean, look at us. Who is--
BEHAR: Don`t get competitive.
ABDUL-MALIK: In this discourse, I don`t think it`s about Christianity or about Islam. I don`t think that that structure that is there, it has a particular meaning for Christians.
BEHAR: Right.
ABDUL-MALIK: For other who said -- look, we dug this out of the rubble, oh, wow. And there`s a place and a voice for everybody. I`m fine with it.
BECK: It became an iconic symbol. It kind of rose from the ashes and there it was.
BEHAR: Here is the American Atheists Incorporated. They said that this is an attempt to turn this into a Christian or a sacred place where in fact it is a place that is very important for all Americans, whether they happen to be Christians or members of other groups. Rabbi, what do you say to that?
BOTEACH: Let them have a giant void there as well to represent their atheism. In the final analysis, I`m into live and let live. So let there be a lot of religious symbols.
ABDUL-MALIK: There you go.
(CROSSTALK)
BECK: I`m worried. I`m agreeing with the rabbi tonight too much. We actually agree on an issue.
BOTEACH: We all mature with age, Father.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: You know, it was interesting to hear some of the stories, I`ve been talking to people all week. Some people never made it to the Twin Towers that day because the kid got sick. Or they were late, or their subway got stuck for a few minutes and they were spared the horror. What is that? Is that divine intervention? Is it a coincidence? Is it luck? How do you explain that?
BECK: I would hate to say it`s divine intervention, because that would mean we have a capricious God that for the 3,000 that were killed, he wasn`t looking out for them.
BEHAR: Exactly.
BECK: So I don`t like that. I say it`s chance. You were in a good place, a good time. Life happened. Celebrate it. But I can`t say that God led you away from that building, because therefore, he didn`t lead 3,000 other people away.
BEHAR: That`s the most rational answer that a religious person can give. All I hear is -- thank God I wasn`t there. What about the rest of them?
BECK: What about everybody else.
BEHAR: Exactly.
ABDUL-MALIK: I think there`s another place in this. Which is I believe that God is active in the lives of people, and so that is also possible that I`m led away from or led to. But my destiny is whatever God has for me.
Our question is what do you get out of it? The person who says -- I was for whatever reason spared my life, how will I live my life differently now?
BECK: I agree with that. That`s fine.
ABDUL-MALIK: Now the person --
BECK: But don`t say you`re chosen as special to have gotten out of that and somebody else wasn`t.
BEHAR: There was divine intervention.
ABDUL-MALIK: I am saying that I don`t believe that anything that happens in life is out of control.
BOTEACH: It`s all providentially true, but the real question, Joy, is not why certain people survived. The real question is why anyone had to die at all. In the final analysis, if God is omnipotent and all-powerful, he should be preventing these things. People can have evil designs. That does not mean that they have to come to fruition. We have to have a more defiant faith. Our faith has to be based on challenging God when there are these terrible atrocities. It`s not just about being submissive. Why does God -- he split the Red Sea when the Israelites were going to be attacked by the Egyptians, he`s done many miracles. Where are the miracles today?
(CROSSTALK)
BOTEACH: For all the people who question why is it that I survive, you were supposed to survive. The real question is, why did the other people die?
BEHAR: OK. When you say he, you don`t really mean he, right? It could be she, it could be whatever?
BECK: No, he means he.
BOTEACH: No, I don`t think that God has any particular male features.
(CROSSTALK)
ABDUL-MALIK: The notion is that God is beyond this whole male/female thing.
BEHAR: We have a little more time after the break for this lovely discussion. We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with my religious panel. OK. Let`s talk about forgiveness, which we talked about this another time when you were on. But in this particular instance, we`re going to have to forgive a lot of these bad people who hurt us on that day. Should we forgive them? Let`s start with the imam.
ABDUL-MALIK: I think we have to be clear that there is a part of this phase that we`ve gone through that we have to be able to move past. And part of that is not really -- and this is a theological piece -- not just forgiving the people who did whatever they did, but also internally for us to let go of the answers that won`t be answered, the people who won`t come back. And -- but hold on. But ultimately, the real anger for us if we don`t let this go is being angry with God. And I think that that is the big one for most people, that between me and God there`s like there`s some bad blood.
BEHAR: You mean that God let this happen?
ABDUL-MALIK: That God let this happen, how could God let this happen. It is only until you forgive that then not only are you forgiving the perpetrators, but also this relationship with God.
BOTEACH: I (inaudible) I forgive you for being wrong. There`s no reason we should forgive these people at all. On the contrary. Forgiveness is based on three things -- recognition that you did something wrong, then there is the repentance, we`re asking people to--
(CROSSTALK)
BOTEACH: And then finally there is rectification. You need to make it right. These people who did this have fulfilled none of those three. They are cold blooded killers. They screamed the name of God as they took human life of God`s children. They are evil incarnate, and if we can`t distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, if we just offer blanket forgiveness to get it out of our system, we`ll lose the righteous and moral indignation that has us fighting these people. Because let`s remember one thing -- these attackers are still out there and they still want to do another 9/11 and we have to stop them before it happens.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: We only have a minute.
(CROSSTALK)
BECK: This is where the rabbi and I part ways, because every person is a love child of God, no matter how bad they are, what they do, and there`s room for forgiveness and redemption for everyone.
BEHAR: I don`t agree with that. I`m with the rabbi on that one.
BECK: I think you hurt yourself more when you don`t let it go.
(CROSSTALK)
BECK: It eats you.
BOTEACH: God bless you, it`s a free country, and you have the right to be wrong. But I got to tell you, on this particular issue, in this particular issue, the fact is that God does not love terrorists. He says clearly in the Bible that he hates the wicked and he hates those--
ABDUL-MALIK: We`re not saying that.
BECK: I don`t believe that.
BOTEACH: And hatred is a valid emotion when it`s directed only at people who practice mass murder and need to be stopped today.
(CROSSTALK)
ABDUL-MALIK: This is why we have Jesus, because you need to have a path to salvation.
BECK: Who forgave his killers.
ABDUL-MALIK: There you go.
BECK: Who forgave his killers.
BOTEACH: He said, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?
(CROSSTALK)
BECK: Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.
BOTEACH: That`s one version of his death. And in another version, he says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
BECK: Hey, you commit to the Hebrew scriptures, I`ll do the Christian scriptures.
BEHAR: But you know what--
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: If Jesus had a child, if he were a father instead of the son, if he were the father instead of the son, and he had a child and that child was harmed, I wonder how generous Jesus would have been.
Always a pleasure to see you guys. Thanks very much and thank you all for watching. Good night, everybody.
END
