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Joy Behar Page
Whoopi`s World; Charlie Sheen: Twitter Twit?; Interview with Kevin Bacon
Aired December 13, 2011 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW, Joy`s pal, Whoopi Goldberg stops by to dish on politics and pop culture.
Then Charlie Sheen strikes again, this time accidentally tweeting his phone number to his 5 million followers.
Plus, we`ll look back at Joy`s chat with Kevin Bacon. That and more starting right now.
JOY BEHAR, HOST: Over the past four years, Whoopi Goldberg and I have become very close. We work together, we socialize together and even (INAUDIBLE) together. That`s how close. Joining me now is co-host of "The View" and the producer of "Sister Act" on Broadway and movie star in general, my friend, my pal, Whoopi Goldberg. Hey Whoopi.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Hello, darling.
You now have an audience.
BEHAR: I do. We always have them here.
GOLDBERG: Did you?
BEHAR: This is what people are going to miss, all the energy from the show.
GOLDBERG: Can I just say something?
BEHAR: Yes.
GOLDBERG: I don`t know what HLN, right, HLN --
BEHAR: HLN.
GOLDBERG: -- is thinking, but the idea that this show needed to go off is a mistake. Because I can tell you people all over the country -- because I do travel -- so I see and people always say, let Joy know I watch the show. I just think it`s a horrible mistake and a bad misstep for HLN. It`s a bad misstep.
BEHAR: Well, they feel that they did what they think is right. So that`s what they`re doing.
GOLDBERG: I don`t think it`s right. How about that?
BEHAR: People have come on this show and they`re also complaining about going off, but those -- I want the HLN people to know that those are unsolicited. You just didn`t --
GOLDBERG: I did that. I just did that because I think it`s -- you know, listen, I understand that they want to try new stuff. But when something is working, and I`ve looked at your ratings. This ratings BS story that people give --
BEHAR: According to the press, we`re the second highest rated show.
GOLDBERG: So why would you take it off? It doesn`t make sense.
But you know what? This whole year a lot of this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) doesn`t make -- Newt Gingrich doesn`t make sense.
BEHAR: Newt Gingrich - before we get to Newt Gingrich, I want you to know Donald Trump has bowed out of hosting that debate.
GOLDBERG: Really? I wonder why.
BEHAR: I know. If you give a party and nobody comes --
GOLDBERG: It`s kind of tough. It`s kind of tough.
BEHAR: Let me just read his statement. He said, quote, "I believe this would not only have been the most watched debate but also the most substantive and interesting debate." Who`s he going to debate? Just Newt Gingrich and who`s the other one? Santorum.
GOLDBERG: Well, clearly the other people didn`t feel that anybody was going to watch it or they would have been there.
BEHAR: Well, we heard what Huntsman said. I mean --
GOLDBERG: He thought it was a joke.
BEHAR: He said that he was not going to kiss the ring of Donald or any other part of his anatomy. Huntsman can be quite fabulous.
GOLDBERG: I like him. I like him. It`s a shame that we`ve gone so far away from people who actually want to see the country do better, want to see people aspire and make themselves into Americans, you know. You know this idea you`re with us or not with us, you`re not American, you`re not this -- that is all new. I don`t recall any of that.
I thought they stopped doing that after we shut down the black list. You know, we said we`re never going to do that as a country again, say to people, you don`t get to have your opinion because you think differently. Now, we`re in the midst of it.
I mean, look, I`ve known -- I don`t want to say they`re slow because they`re not slow and they`re not really dumb --
BEHAR: Who are you talking about? The Tea Party?
GOLDBERG: No. Just the whole vibe, man. The people who get up and say the President`s not American.
BEHAR: Oh, yes.
GOLDBERG: The people that say kids should not be protected, and therefore we should get rid of the Child Welfare Act, we should put little kids to work.
BEHAR: The child labor laws.
GOLDBERG: Child labor laws -- to clean their own bathrooms in the schools. What the hell, man?
BEHAR: The thing with that, what he`s not acknowledging is that if the kids are cleaning up the school, number one, they`re not studying as much. And number two, their fathers and their uncles and whoever else has the janitorial positions are losing their health care, they`re losing their jobs. What is he talking about?
GOLDBERG: I`m not sure he understands -- I don`t think he realizes the ramifications of what he said. What I find interesting with this party is they tend to all say the same thing so they get on board. Basically, children are not supposed to work. Children are supposed to go to school and get better and learn stuff and go forward.
BEHAR: Right.
GOLDBERG: Now, if you have crappy schools, you know, if Newt wants to fix something, fix the schools. You want to fix the schools, you want to fix the teachers, that`s your job. You`re the adult. It`s not the kids` job.
And the idea that he would add into this conversation that this will help them not become pimps and prostitutes and drug dealers --
BEHAR: Well, that`s a little -- I don`t know what the word to use --
GOLDBERG: It`s called racist.
BEHAR: Well, thank you.
GOLDBERG: You know, it`s called racist. Who is he talking about?
BEHAR: Well, he`s talking about kids in the inner city.
GOLDBERG: Poor kids.
BEHAR: Well, there are plenty of poor white children, too.
GOLDBERG: Yes. But somehow I don`t think he`s including them. He hasn`t said it out loud because, you know, folks never do when they`re talking like this, they never say what they mean. It`s like when they used to say, oh, yes, we have to catch up with all the illegal immigrants. Who are you talking about?
BEHAR: Mexicans. They`re not talking about Canadians.
GOLDBERG: They`re not talking about Canadians or French people --
BEHAR: Or the Irish coming over here or the Italians --
GOLDBERG: No, no. Be specific so I know what you mean.
BEHAR: Yes. They`re talking about Mexicans.
GOLDBERG: So I mean be specific. When you`re talking about -- you know Donald Trump said in an interview he had with the "Today" show, that black kids -- that poor kids, he didn`t say black kids, he said poor kids don`t have role models. He said, now Barack Obama should have been a role model.
BEHAR: Yes.
GOLDBERG: But he turned out not to be a good role model. He made an extraordinary point today, that this guy never messed around on his old lady, raised his children --
BEHAR: Loves his children --
GOLDBERG: -- raised his kids --
(CROSSTALK)
GOLDBERG: He`s the first black president. What the hell, Donald? What (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is wrong with you?
BEHAR: I guess the Donald, being a thrice-married guy with children from three different women is a better role model.
GOLDBERG: But the idea -- and he might be -- you know, he might be a good role model. But to intimate that Obama is not a role model for kids who want to be president seems just so tiny, teeny-weeny little mind. Oh, gave me a hot flash.
BEHAR: But you know a lot of times -- I`m sorry. Let me fan you. I have to do this sometimes on "The View". You must not layer yourself; that`s the key to not getting a flash. Do not layer.
GOLDBERG: I`m so fat. When I tell you I`m "Jabba the Hut" under here.
BEHAR: How fat are you? She has her own zip code.
GOLDBERG: I have my zip code and yours.
Can you say the A word?
BEHAR: What, ass?
GOLDBERG: Yes.
BEHAR: Yes, baby.
GOLDBERG: My ass is huge, huge.
BEHAR: Here`s the thing. Did you see Liz Cheney? She was on Fox News. I want you to watch. This is the daughter of Dick Cheney.
GOLDBERG: Right.
BEHAR: Just because -- to see that the apple doesn`t fall far from the tree. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ CHENEY, DAUGHTER OF DICK CHENEY: He, right now, as commander-in- chief is performing abysmally with respect to Afghanistan and Iraq. He`s about to snatch defeat from what was a victory in Iraq by pulling everybody out. This president`s performance means we may well lose both wars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Ok. First of all Bush signed an agreement in 2008 to withdraw troops from Iraq by December 31st, 2011. So what the hell is she talking about?
GOLDBERG: She`s on the party line. And you know, the bashing of Obama --
BEHAR: Yes.
GOLDBERG: -- I feel, and only recently did I think I figured this out, has to do with the fact they don`t like that he was successful, in the face of oil spills and hurricanes and banks failing and, you know, jobs disappearing.
BEHAR: During the Bush Administration?
GOLDBERG: No. This is all in the 3 1/2 years he`s been in. This was all the stuff he`s dealt with.
BEHAR: Uh-huh.
GOLDBERG: Now, it`s not his fault that the banks were failing because that was put in order years ago. It`s not his fault -- it`s not Bush`s fault that jobs went away.
BEHAR: No. That had a lot to do with Clinton.
GOLDBERG: Yes, it did. You know and so we understand that. But we can see that. We can say that. But Liz Cheney could never say that. She could never say, you know what, this is a much bigger issue than just Barack Obama.
BEHAR: Right.
GOLDBERG: You know. And this idea you have to bash him in order to get forward is just beyond me.
BEHAR: What about Romney, say God forbid, no one likes him. I feel sorry for him.
GOLDBERG: I like him.
BEHAR: 25 percent. He can never -- I can`t get to 26 percent. I can`t get to 26 percent.
GOLDBERG: It must be really tough. Listen, this is a guy who was the governor, who put in place a really smart health care plan. And now he can`t actually say how great it is because it reflects too much what Obama has been talking about.
BEHAR: Right.
GOLDBERG: And so now he can`t even say listen, this is good for the country. It is good for the country.
BEHAR: Well, you know, even our boyfriend Huntsman, whom we like today. I said to him off camera, "Are you pro-choice?" No, he`s not pro- choice. I said, "Do you believe in evolution?" He said "Yes, of course, I do."
But I must say that he`s backing off on climate change because he`s trying to appeal to the base.
GOLDBERG: Right.
BEHAR: And that is a problem. That`s what they`re all doing and that`s why Romney is distancing himself.
GOLDBERG: Yes, yes.
BEHAR: Ok. All right we`re going to have much more with Whoopi when we come back.
GOLDBERG: Oh we`re back? Ok.
BEHAR: We`ll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with my pal, Whoopi Goldberg. You know, you have the best parties, I must say.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
BEHAR: And at a couple of your parties, you had John Edwards, the guy who speaks to the dead. I was wondering, if you could talk to any dead person, who would it be?
GOLDBERG: I`d talk to my mom.
BEHAR: Your mother?
GOLDBERG: Yes.
BEHAR: Yes.
GOLDBERG: Yes.
BEHAR: But I mean, a famous person? Anybody famous?
GOLDBERG: I knew them before they were dead, most of them. I`ve had all the conversation in my --
BEHAR: I tell you something, you know everybody. Everyone that comes on that show knows you.
GOLDBERG: Yes. I was a very big movie star.
BEHAR: You were.
GOLDBERG: Yes. I was like a huge movie star.
BEHAR: Well you still are, you`ll always be -- you`ll always be.
GOLDBERG: Well in but not that way. I mean -- when you think about it, more than 50 films that I`m involved with and, you know, you get to meet folks along the way. And you know, suddenly you`re there and you would think oh hey there so-and-so and they go, "Hey, what`s up?"
BEHAR: Yes. Yes, it`s true. I mean, I`ve only made a few movies and I`ve always had little parts. But I know that I have bonded with those people. I still am friends with them.
GOLDBERG: Yes, yes.
BEHAR: Whereas in TV it`s not always the case.
GOLDBERG: Well in TV, it`s much more of a grind. You have a very finite amount of time on a film.
BEHAR: Yes.
GOLDBERG: You know a month and a half or whatever. And you`re -- you scatter.
BEHAR: Yes.
GOLDBERG: That`s why when people say, are you still friends with everyone from "The Color Purple," but I haven`t seen everyone --
BEHAR: Yes.
GOLDBERG: -- it`s 25 years it took Oprah to put it together.
BEHAR: Was that the best movie, the favorite movie that you`ve ever done in your life?
GOLDBERG: No my favorite is "Lion King."
BEHAR: Oh well, "Lion King".
GOLDBERG: Yes.
BEHAR: That was a cartoon. So what about -- what about not a cartoon? What about not a cartoon?
GOLDBERG: Not a cartoon?
BEHAR: "Ghost."
GOLDBERG: "Ghost" is great. I just actually watched it all the way through again. You know there are so many "Boys on the Side"; "Corina, Corina."
BEHAR: Of course "Sister Act".
GOLDBERG: I Love, "Sister Act". I mean, look, I`m lucky when I made the movies, people didn`t sort of gravitate to them, the other films, and they are big ones that I made, that people loved. But you know I don`t think they ever gave a lot of the films their due because they are wonderful.
BEHAR: Well, they`ve made a great -- a great Broadway show out of "Sister Act". I`ve seen it and it`s really terrific show.
GOLDBERG: Yes. And "Color Purple."
BEHAR: And "Color Purple" yes.
GOLDBERG: And now "Ghost" too.
BEHAR: Doing "Ghost".
GOLDBERG: Yes.
BEHAR: That`s what I was going to ask you --
GOLDBERG: I don`t have anything to do with it.
BEHAR: Oh you don`t?
GOLDBERG: No, I asked could I come be part of that. But they were like, no, thank you, bye.
BEHAR: Excuse me, you won the Oscar for that one.
GOLDBERG: Yes but clearly that means (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
BEHAR: It`s all right, we have a -- we have a button.
GOLDBERG: You have a button, ok.
BEHAR: Yes don`t worry about it.
GOLDBERG: It clearly doesn`t mean anything.
BEHAR: Now what -- what about -- what about tabloids? Are you in the tabloids a lot?
GOLDBERG: Occasionally I was just the last one.
BEHAR: What was -- do you remember the worst story they ever wrote about you?
GOLDBERG: Well I -- I sort of feel like -- should I even mention the last one? No, I hate this woman so much. No, I`m not in them a lot.
BEHAR: No. You`re lying?
GOLDBERG: No. No, I`m not. No. I mean, I think that`s why they -- they try to find stuff every now and then.
BEHAR: Yes.
GOLDBERG: But I can`t remember except this -- this last one. And the only reason I`m not saying it because I don`t want to give this woman one iota of attention.
BEHAR: That`s true.
GOLDBERG: She also dumped her cat, that`s all I`m saying, that`s kind of the person she was, she left her cat. I hate people who do that.
BEHAR: Oh, no. You love your puss.
GOLDBERG: I love my puss.
BEHAR: You do. So well you know in one off the tabloids, they said that all you girls were upset with me because of all the hairspray I use and that I was ruining the ozone layer.
GOLDBERG: Well, I don`t know about the ozone layer but yes, you were ruining my lungs?
BEHAR: So it`s true. It`s true.
GOLDBERG: I never told anybody, but, yes, it is true. Now, because, you know, when you spray, you spray -- you spray like this.
BEHAR: And that`s from my armpits.
GOLDBERG: That`s right. And see, I`m going to do it in slow motion. You notice how the people behind you are getting it?
BEHAR: Well, how do you -- I can`t because I`ve to get lift on this hair. I need lift.
GOLDBERG: No I totally get it, I totally get it but I need to breathe a little bit.
BEHAR: Ok. I`m sorry. I won`t do it anymore.
BEHAR: But no you don`t do it now because we have a different configuration. But when we were in that time -- that`s why I didn`t -- I never went into the room. Because between you and Sherry getting the spray, and everybody are getting the spray I was like, hell, no.
BEHAR: Do you have any other things about the show that you`d like to get off your chest?
GOLDBERG: No. Actually, you know, aside from you know sort of days like this or weeks like this, where we`re putting in, you know, eight days of shooting --
BEHAR: Yes.
GOLDBERG: That`s a little rough.
BEHAR: It is. GOLDBERG: But you know look, I`m really happy to have the job. I`m really happy to have the job.
BEHAR: Yes well, we wanted you on that show. I wanted you.
GOLDBERG: Well, I know. I remember. You fought for me.
BEHAR: Yes, I did.
GOLDBERG: I just sort of feel like, you know, it`s a privilege to be able to say what you want to say and talk about stuff you want to talk about.
BEHAR: Totally. Totally.
GOLDBERG: It`s a huge privilege. So you know, and the check is good. I`m not going to lie.
BEHAR: Yes, yes.
I have to give it to HLN also while we`re on it. Because no one has ever told me don`t say this or don`t say that.
GOLDBERG: Right.
BEHAR: They`re very big on free speech here and I`ve appreciated that the last two years. And "The View."
GOLDBERG: Yes, yes it`s true.
BEHAR: So since the show is going to go off now, what do you -- do you have any suggestions of what I could do with my afternoons?
GOLDBERG: Rest.
BEHAR: Oh I don`t want to rest.
GOLDBERG: Oh yes, you do.
BEHAR: I`ll rest when I`m dead. I can`t rest.
GOLDBERG: No, no listen, I have seen you -- listen. I`ve seen Joy coming to work, she`s got no makeup on.
BEHAR: Oh my God, don`t scare --
GOLDBERG: She`s dragging in because she`s working her tail off.
BEHAR: I like it, though, I like it.
GOLDBERT: So I say, I know you do. But you need a little rest because you want to get back out and start doing stand-up in the casinos again. And so you need -- you need to rest up a little bit. Read, you know, a couple of dirty magazines or --
BEHAR: Maybe.
GOLDBERG: What did I say?
BEHAR: I don`t know. But I know I don`t want to do -- I would like to do another one. I like it.
GOLDBERG: You will but you don`t want to do it next week.
BEHAR: No, no. But we have two weeks off at Christmas. I`m going to rest then.
GOLDBERG: Yes, that`s what I`m talking about. Then we will find you another job for January.
BEHAR: Ok and what do you want for Christmas, my usual gift?
GOLDBERG: Yes.
BEHAR: Tell everyone what it is.
GOLDBERG: Joy makes a lasagna that makes me understand I don`t need a man in my house.
BEHAR: I bring the lasagna in and all of them are like vultures on it and Whoopi, one year, she just took it --
GOLDBERG: I took it in my room, it was like, oh, lasagna and people who hadn`t begged for it like I did. Let me -- I was like -- that`s right, I will cut them for that lasagna, man.
BEHAR: Ok. All right. You can catch Whoopi`s cameo in "The Muppets" playing in theaters now. Thanks, Whoops.
GOLDBERG: Thanks baby.
BEHAR: We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Charlie Sheen accidentally tweeted his cell number to his 5 million followers last week prompting non-stop calls and 1,800 text messages before the phone shut down. This is the first time a phone number other than 911 has been involved in a Charlie Sheen story.
With me now to talk about this and other pop culture stories in the news are Rebecca Dana, senior correspondent "Newsweek and the "Daily Beast"; Jay Thomas, actor and Sirius XM radio host; and comedian extraordinaire, Jessica Kirson.
Jessica, should we be glad it was just his phone number that went out there? It could have been worse, couldn`t it?
JESSICA KIRSON, COMEDIAN: Yes. It could have been (INAUDIBLE) his drug dealer`s phone number.
BEHAR: Or it could have been his junk.
KIRSON: His junk? Oh, my God, that would have been -- I wish that happened. I`m serious.
BEHAR: You do? Why.
KIRSON: Yes. Just because it would have been hilarious because everyone would have commented on how, you know, small it is?
JAY THOMAS, SIRIUS XM RADIO HOST: You mean like two Christmas balls that he was sending out as a little picture? It was Justin Bieber that he was texting.
KIRSON: Wouldn`t it be funny if that`s what hew texted to Justin Bieber?
THOMAS: Oh, yes.
KIRSON: His junk?
BEHAR: Why is he trying to text Justin Bieber, pray tell?
THOMAS: To be on "Anger Management" with him -- that new show. Who knows? I mean that`s -- to even think that they could be friends for a minute is a television show. Put them in the same room for five seconds, I would watch that all night.
BEHAR: Do you think it was a stunt maybe, Rebecca. Because you know, he could pick up -- he has 5 million Twitter followers, but maybe he wanted more.
REBECCA DANA, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT "NEWSWEEK: I do think it was a stunt. The cynic, the journalist in me thinks it was a stunt. Yes. I mean he`s been out of the spotlight for five or 10 minutes. So he`s desperate to claw his way back in and probably -- I don`t know, somebody suggested it.
BEHAR: I think that this tweeting is out of control with some celebrities.
THOMAS: -- loaded going -- you know, he`s loaded, trying to dial.
BEHAR: You don`t think it`s a stunt?
THOMAS: No, not a stunt.
BEHAR: But that the tweeting thing is I mean look at Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. They got mad after they split up --
DANA: I think that tweeting is the best thing that`s ever happened.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: -- but they were out there with everything.
DANA: I think it`s the best thing that ever happened with celebrities --
BEHAR: Why? Why?
DANA: -- because you people all look like idiots now. It`s the --
BEHAR: You people -- you`re putting me in that category?
KIRSON: Joy, you`re an idiot girl.
DANA: You`re not an idiot. You`re the only person who doesn`t look like an idiot.
BEHAR: You know, the other day I was live tweeting during the debates and I had a couple drinks so I have to watch it, too.
DANA: It`s the idiots the rest of us are, it`s this wonderful thing that has sort of demystified celebrities -- not that we ever had any mystique around Charlie Sheen per se. But it`s just kind of lovely to see people screw up and say stupid stuff and tweet.
BEHAR: Makes you feel superior?
KIRSON: It makes me anxious. Makes me very anxious.
BEHAR: Why are you anxious.
DANA: Because you`re a celebrity.
KIRSON: I`m not a celebrity, but thank you.
THOMAS: You know, remember, actors don`t think of anything. They are the dumbest group of individuals and I`m one of them.
BEHAR: You`re one of them.
THOMAS: And they don`t think of anything. Actors travel with a writer who tweets for them because actors say things that really intelligent, college-educated people write for them. So when they`re given -- watch an actor ad-lib some time, not a comedian, not an improvisational person, but an actor. Watch them ad-lib, they don`t know what to do. They can`t --
BEHAR: Not all actors, you`re grouping them into one big lump of people. Some of them are smart.
THOMAS: Since I`m not getting the bigger films, all of them are sons of bitches --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Ok. On that note --
THOMAS: And they can all tweet until they`re dead as far as I`m concerned.
BEHAR: You know what; he`s not bitter. We`ll have more pop culture in just a minute.
THOMAS: I tweeted my number, no one called.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with my panel. OK, now, Nick Nolte is now saying that his infamous 2002 mugshot after his DUI arrest -- remember that -- is not a mugshot but a Polaroid that a cop asked him to pose for. I don`t want to be cruel, but I`ve seen autopsy photos that were more flattering. I don`t wish to be cruel to poor Nick, because I like him. He`s a very good actor, you`ll agree with that?
THOMAS: Yes, unbelievable.
BEHAR: A very good actor. But I mean, why would he pose for this picture knowing that he looked like he was -- had just been electrocuted?
(CROSSTALK)
DANA: It doesn`t look like he was in the best decision making shape of his life there.
BEHAR: I know. But that was not even a mugshot. He didn`t have to pose with this cop.
DANA: I`m not sure that`s the thought process he was going through in that moment. I think he was sort of like, oh, against the wall, sure.
THOMAS: He says that he had taken liquid ecstasy.
BEHAR: Liquid ecstasy.
THOMAS: To work out.
BEHAR: To assist in his workout.
KIRSON: Because he looked like he was about to work out in that picture.
THOMAS: Now we know why he has such a fabulous physique.
KIRSON: He looked like one of my grandmother`s Jewish friends, like a 95-year-old from Boca, they wake up with their hair out, what`s for breakfast? A half a cantaloupe? You know what I mean, that`s what he looked like to me.
THOMAS: What`s liquid ecstasy? Where do you--
KIRSON: I`m on it right now. I`ll tell you later.
THOMAS: Who takes that before you work out?
KIRSON: I take it twice a day before I work out.
BEHAR: But I mean, do you think his career -- after that picture came out, we never saw him again.
THOMAS: What are you talking about?
BEHAR: In the movies?
(CROSSTALK)
DANA: He`s ready for his comeback, he`s ready for his Mickey Rourke moment.
BEHAR: He`s back now because there`s a show called "Lucky."
(CROSSTALK)
THOMAS: He did "U-Turn" after that, he did "U-Turn," he did other movies. First of all, you don`t recognize him because now he combs his hair. You don`t know it`s him.
KIRSON: Did he get dressed up for the mugshot?
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Look at the before and after picture when he is cleaned up, how cute he is. He`s a darling guy.
THOMAS: Not a good ad for liquid ecstasy, I can tell you that.
BEHAR: No, it`s not. Or Hawaiian shirts.
BEHAR: OK. Another hot mess, Gary Busey has endorsed Newt Gingrich for president. That`s good enough for me. Where do I vote? OK. Does Newt need this, do you think? Is it a good endorsement? From "Newsweek," speak.
DANA: I guess any endorsement is a good endorsement. I don`t know. Look at Newt right now. Maybe he doesn`t need anything, he`s just soaring and soaring and soaring, against all reason.
BEHAR: Maybe he needs liquid ecstasy.
(CROSSTALK)
DANA: Maybe that`s what Mitt needs, frankly, to spice up his campaign.
THOMAS: I think it gives Newt the ex cocaine addict, wife abuser, drug addict, failed actor vote. I think he just has -- it also is a statement for the helmet law. Also I think -- have you seen his head? His head is kind of -- do you have a picture of his head? His head is misshapen.
BEHAR: That was unfortunate. People don`t know he was in a motorcycle accident without a helmet.
THOMAS: Yes, they do. When you meet him and don`t know it, you know he was in some sort of accident, you do, right away, you go he`s been in an accident.
KIRSON: Especially because he still wears the helmet now.
BEHAR: Even when he`s on TV?
KIRSON: That`s what I`m saying, he just wears a helmet now.
BEHAR: Another part of the story is that Michael Savage, that rabid right wing radio host out of Los Angeles has offered Newt Gingrich a million dollars to drop out of the race, because he says that Newt Gingrich cannot beat Obama. Agree or not agree? And a million dollar is bigger than Newt Gingrich`s Tiffany bill.
THOMAS: Mitt Romney bet $10,000 that Savage doesn`t have a million dollar. Michael Savage is banned in England, you know, because of some Islamic thing.
BEHAR: Oh.
THOMAS: And I think Michael Savage is just excited that he got his picture on--
BEHAR: That Michael Savage got his picture --
THOMAS: Yes. Right.
BEHAR: That we`re talking about him.
THOMAS: Who even listens to him. I mean, I think he`s funny. And Newt Gingrich, a million dollars is nothing, right.
BEHAR: No, what is that?
KIRSON: Can you imagine if he actually took it, like, OK, I`ll drop out for a million.
(CROSSTALK)
THOMAS: When the guy, he`s been gone for so long that he thinks a million dollar is a lot of money. Right?
(CROSSTALK)
THOMAS: And it`s not enough money.
KIRSON: I`d love to see the three of them in a cell together.
BEHAR: Who? Busey?
KIRSON: Yes, all of them, just in a cell, with their hair crazy and just going at each other, just nuts.
BEHAR: All right, moving on.
THOMAS: I want liquid ecstasy.
BEHAR: OK.
KIRSON: I have some. I`m on it.
BEHAR: Listen to this one now. The flight attendants union is now calling for 30 Rock to be banned from in-flight entertainment in the wake of Alec Baldwin`s dustup with American Airlines. Yet they still show the movie "Alive." Go figure. No, they don`t. That was a joke.
They don`t show "Airplane." They show no movies that make you anxious and think the plane is going to go down. So they want to pull 30 Rock off. American Airlines is in bankruptcy. Shouldn`t they shut up now, leave Alec Baldwin alone?
DANA: I think the thing that did it for them was his appearance on Saturday Night Live. They felt he was improperly contrite and that really raised their hackles. I don`t know, maybe they have a point. Maybe if you`re a flight attendant, you don`t want to be walking around serving drinks seeing Alec Baldwin`s big head on the screen. I wouldn`t want to see it.
KIRSON: I think they should be worried about keeping their jobs and having a nice ass.
BEHAR: That is so sexist of you.
KIRSON: I know. That`s why I said it. I thought it would get a better laugh.
THOMAS: I think that American Airlines is missing a huge chance. They`re in bankruptcy. They would hire him, they would have --
BEHAR: As a spokesperson?
THOMAS: Have him and the woman and they would have him apologize or whatever, he gets fake wings, whatever they do, it would go viral. It would be fantastic. If they think they`re not going to respond by having everyone from NBC not fly American Airlines, but they`re wrong. It`s a going to happen. NBC is not going to let Tina Fey, oh my God, be insulted for one second, right, so they are going to have to respond.
BEHAR: Do you think Alec would do that?
THOMAS: Sure, he would. Apparently, he`ll do anything.
BEHAR: No, that`s not true.
THOMAS: It is true.
BEHAR: He`s one of these actors who is always browbeating himself because he`s not a bigger star in the movies, you know how he is, he is self-deprecating, self-hating in a certain way.
THOMAS: He would do it in a minute. He would do it.
DANA: No, he is self-aggrandizing, really. Did you read that New Yorker profile of him, where he`s just like -- he just cannot understand why he is not a bigger star. He`s a pretty big star.
BEHAR: I thought he was saying that, you know, he feels like he`s a failure because he`s not a bigger star.
DANA: Yes, that people should be giving him bigger roles. Maybe they should be, I mean, I love Alec Baldwin.
KIRSON: Where is humility? I just performed in a barn.
THOMAS: When I was walking here, I saw the angry birds playing Alec Baldwin. That`s what I saw. That`s how big he is. He`s huge. He wants to do Shakespeare. But he`s a huge actor, huge personality.
BEHAR: He`s a huge talent.
THOMAS: He is. He is good at everything he does.
BEHAR: He`s hilarious.
THOMAS: And when I`m around him personally, I bother him because I make fun of him or something and I shouldn`t, probably that`s why I`m being held back myself. I`m the one, Alec Baldwin, who doesn`t do anything. Look at me.
BEHAR: He`s not watching, so get over yourself.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Finally, Chelsea Clinton.
THOMAS: I want to be thrown off an airliner.
BEHAR: We can throw you off this show if you want.
(CROSSTALK)
THOMAS: You know what`s terrible, they had to pull the plane back into the dock, right?
DANA: The Greyhound, after -- in the wake of the incident was like, Alec, come on the Greyhound bus and you can play as much words with friends as you want.
BEHAR: But you don`t believe that any of that stuff that you do is hurting the plane?
DANA: No, the New York Times just had a story on it. Doesn`t do --
BEHAR: Every time you go up in the air, there has got to be some schmuck in the back who is still online.
(CROSSTALK)
THOMAS: This is not a joke. All that stuff they`re saying in case the plane goes down and everything else, suppose you turn to the guy and go, we`re going down, what should we do? I have no idea, I was playing some stupid game. You`re supposed to listen to how to get out and open the door.
BEHAR: Do you listen?
THOMAS: I listen to everything.
BEHAR: Do you really?
THOMAS: I sit right by the door. I`m not helping anyone out, I`m out first.
DANA: You listen every time?
THOMAS: I listen to everything. I get the card -- I do the whole deal.
(CROSSTALK)
KIRSON: Are you on medication?
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: You heard it once, how many times you have to hear it?
(CROSSTALK)
THOMAS: I don`t retain it for some reason, have you noticed, I don`t retain any of the instructions.
BEHAR: OK, one more story--
THOMAS: Do you lift up on the end or pull down?
BEHAR: Oh, who cares?
(CROSSTALK)
KIRSON: You would know that better than us.
THOMAS: You lift up and you pull out, you hand the door to someone behind you and you leap out of the plane.
KIRSON: I`m getting turned on.
BEHAR: Jessica is getting turned on, she said.
THOMAS: Then she runs at the thing, but the door is stuck the wrong way because she doesn`t know to do that to get out.
BEHAR: Chelsea Clinton made her debut as a correspondent to NBC`s Rock Center with Brian Williams. Everything is about rock rock rock, revealing it was her late grandmother who encouraged her career change. Let`s watch Chelsea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHELSEA CLINTON, NBC: She recently had been cajoling me and challenging me to do more with my life, to lead more of a purposely public life, that being Chelsea Clinton had happened to me and that I had a responsibility to do something with that asset and opportunity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: And what better place to do that than on TV?
DANA: She`s a born journalist.
BEHAR: People are objecting to the fact that Jenna Bush, is it, is on NBC, the Jenna Bush haters?
DANA: Hager. That`s her new last name.
BEHAR: Hager. I need a hearing aid. And then there`s Meghan McCain, who is also on television, and now Chelsea Clinton.
THOMAS: Gee.
BEHAR: And back in this day, they didn`t do that. You never saw Margaret Truman on TV.
(CROSSTALK)
THOMAS: You do need a hearing aid, a cane and an aluminum walker.
BEHAR: You never saw LBJ`s kids on television. Thank you, guys. Go to jessicakirson.com.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: I meant, get up and get some liquid ecstasy and go stretch!
(CROSSTALK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: One of the busiest and most versatile actors in Hollywood, he`s played everything from a man haunted by visions to a sadistic prison guard. Just the kind of men I dated in my 20s, by the way. They were all fabulous. This past weekend, he snagged his very first Golden Globe for his performance in HBO film "Taking Chance."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN BACON, ACTOR: Thank you so much to the Hollywood Foreign Press. I appreciate it. Thank you. It`s an honor to be on the same list with some of the most incredible actors here tonight. To my beautiful family, Kiko, Trav, Saucy, I love you guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Here with me is one of the most talented men in show business, Kevin Bacon. Hey Kevin.
KEVIN BACON, ACTOR: Hey.
BEHAR: How are you? Good to see you again. I can`t believe that`s the first Golden Globe you`ve won. How could that be?
BACON: I haven`t deserved one until now.
BEHAR: No, no, you deserved, you deserved. I saw you in "The Woodsman." you were fantastic in that film.
BACON: Thank you.
BEHAR: But you did play a pedophile, right?
BACON: That`s true.
BEHAR: Yes, I don`t know how to call it; you didn`t kill anybody, though.
BACON: I didn`t kill anybody, no, believe it or not, that was my second child molester.
BEHAR: Oh really, do you specialize in this?
BACON: No. I don`t.
BEHAR: Well you know, Stanley Tucci, I was talking to Stanley about "The Lovely Bones" and he really -- he`s like, I really want to play that part because of the -- he kills a child.
BACON: Yes, it`s a terrible place to go every day when you go to work, there`s no doubt about it.
BEHAR: But I think he should have gotten an award and I wonder if you didn`t get it because of the part.
BACON: I don`t know, you know. I was just so thrilled to get it and it`s been a long time coming. You know, when I choose the parts and when I act in the parts, I`m really not thinking about statues -- you know, I mean --
BEHAR: No, you can`t.
BACON: You can`t. You just have to say this is a part that I believe in, and I`m going to try to do my best work and let`s see what shakes down.
BEHAR: That`s right. Just think of the statue of liberty. Let`s take a look at the clip from "Taking Chance" your new movie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "TAKING CHANCE")
BEHAR: That`s the movie you won the Golden Globe for.
BACON: Yeah. It was an HBO film, "Taking Chance." Yes.
BEHAR: I mean it must -- did it give you a different perspective on the Iraq war during the movie?
BACON: It`s interesting. The movie is about the process of returning the remains of military killed overseas to their final resting place. And I didn`t know anything about it. I think a lot of people have reacted to the movie in that way, just really didn`t know what that process was like. It`s a very simple telling of that story. By the time the film came out, you know, 2008, I guess, I think if you didn`t have an opinion about the Iraq war at that point.
BEHAR: Right.
BACON: You probably lived under a rock. So I don`t think that the film really changed my opinion necessarily of the Iraq war, but it certainly did give me a new perspective on this particular process. And interestingly enough, it actually had an impact on our policy in terms of the press being able to photograph the coffins coming home.
BEHAR: The coffins, yes, because during the Bush administration, we never saw it. It was a scandal really.
BACON: It actually started during Bush`s father.
BEHAR: They stopped showing --
BACON: Yeah.
BEHAR: Oh yes?
BACON: And so it had been in place since then. And you know, it was about two months after the movie aired that the policy changed. And I thought to myself, I can`t imagine that we had any impact on that. But apparently --
BEHAR: You probably did, yeah. But the other award that you received for your charity work was given to you by Meryl Streep was the Joel Siegel award. What was that award for?
BACON: That was the Broadcast Film Critics Association gives the Joel Siegel award and I think maybe it`s the third or fourth one that they`ve given, and it`s named after Joel because of a lot of kind of humanitarian and charitable stuff that he was involved in.
BEHAR: I see, so you do a lot of that stuff?
BACON: Well, I started this club called sixdegrees.org.
BEHAR: Oh yes.
BACON: A few years ago and I was trying to kind of figure out a way that I could give back and all in one kind of place. I was really -- it really came from opening the refrigerator and looking at a picture of Paul Newman grinning at me, from his tomato sauce.
BEHAR: A great guy.
BACON: And you know, I was so amazed at the kind of money Paul was able to raise with that very, very simple idea. So we started sixdegrees.org and it`s kind of a place where we just -- it`s a portal for giving back. We can steer you in the right direction. I mean right now on our home page, we have a very easy point and click way to donate to Haitian Relief. It`s kind of as simple as, you know, buying something on amazon.com or ordering Itunes.
BEHAR: Oh that`s good, we can go right there.
BACON: Yes.
BEHAR: I love the game of six degrees because we were working on something, as a matter of fact.
BACON: Okay.
BEHAR: First of all, I want to tell you that I can link you to Sarah Palin.
BACON: Okay. That`s--
BEHAR: Okay. The game, for people who have been under a rock all these years -- it`s about everyone is connected to Kevin Bacon by "six degrees" in some way. Whoever figured this out I don`t know, they are probably in a mental hospital.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: But this is how I linked you to Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin was on "Saturday Night Live" with Alec Baldwin. Alec Baldwin was in "It`s Complicated" with Meryl Streep. Meryl Streep was in the "River Wild" with Kevin Bacon.
BACON: There you go.
BEHAR: Okay, you want to hear another one? How I link you to my aunt Rose?
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Kevin Bacon was in JFK with Joe Pesci.
BACON: True.
BEHAR: Joe Pesci was in "GoodFellas" with Robert De Niro. Robert De Niro was in "New York, New York" with Liza Minnelli, someone once was taking video footage of Liza Minnelli and my aunt Rose accidentally walked in front of the camera. How about that, huh, pretty good.
BACON: That`s a thrill, I`m happy to hear that.
BEHAR: Isn`t that exciting -- okay, don`t go away. We`ll be right back with Kevin Bacon for more interesting conversation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back for more with Kevin Bacon. All right, Kevin, you know, we love your wife, Kyra Sedgwick, she comes on the View all the times, and she`s just a doll. I really do like her, you`ve been married to her for 21 years.
BACON: True.
BEHAR: Okay in Hollywood years that`s like 200 years really.
BACON: That`s a Hollywood platinum.
BEHAR: You know what I mean, how do you do it? I know that she`s now in L.A. and you`re here mostly, right?
BACON: She shoots -- she`s actually here now, she does shoot six months a year in L.A., yeah. And I stay here. We live in New York.
BEHAR: Yes.
BACON: You know, we really don`t have a secret. I mean, my standard quote is to keep the fights clean and the sex dirty. But I`ve gotten in trouble for that. I mean I don`t think --
BEHAR: With her?
BACON: No, not with her. On the contrary. On the contrary. I don`t think there`s a secret. I mean, I just kind of feel like we like each other. We like each other`s company. You know, and when I`m not away from her, I think about her and I think we respect each other, we respect each other`s work.
BEHAR: You`re not competitive with each other?
BACON: You know, I really -- that`s one of the most important things about our relationship. We`re really not competitive. For many, many years, she was -- even though she had a career and was working and doing really well, she was still Kevin Bacon`s wife, and never once did I feel like when good things would happen, for me, that she was -- that she looked at it as her loss. And, frankly, if it -- if the tables were turned and the first 15 years of our marriage she was a bigger star, I think I would have had a hard time with that.
BEHAR: Well, you know, m-a-n. You`re a man.
BACON: I thought that stood for something. Macho. (EXPLECATIVE DELETED).
BEHAR: You`re a guy, it`s a little harder for men, I think.
BACON: It is.
BEHAR: It`s the way we`ve been programmed and raised all these years.
BACON: That`s true, but even so I really admired the fact that she`s always been you know, really, really happy for-- when things are going well for me because I think she sees it as a partnership, and now for the last six years I`ve been unemployable. And she`s been the star--
BEHAR: No you haven`t.
BACON: And she`s been the star of a major television show. We were talking earlier about who picks up the check at dinner. She`s been picking up the check for quite a few years now.
BEHAR: She`s got that wonderful series on TNT, the "The Closer."
BACON: The Closer, yes.
BEHAR: Not the closer.
BACON: Yes, The Closer I get to you -
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: And also the other thing I want to talk about before we go is your band, your band with your brothers.
BACON: We`ve had a band for 15 years, my brother and I, The Bacon Brothers. We have done six CDs. We have done a lot of touring last year with our latest one, New Year`s Day. And it`s been really a lot of fun. And also I think it`s a great -- it`s a great sort of counterpoint to having this amazing film career and acting career. I feel so lucky to be able to play rock and roll.
BEHAR: Yes, it`s great to have one thing so you never have to rely on one other the other.
BACON: Well you have got two shows.
BEHAR: I know, I like to spread it out. I do stand up too.
BACON: Yes, it`s great.
BEHAR: I juggle on the side a little.
BACON: Do you?
BEHAR: Thanks for coming on the show.
BACON: Thank you, Joy.
BEHAR: Thanks, Kevin, for joining me tonight and thank you for watching. Good night, everybody.
END
