Joy Behar, co-host of ABC's "The View," surprised her fellow hosts and the show's audience on Wednesday by kissing guest Anson Mount on the lips. The unexpected moment occurred as Mount, star of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," approached the table for his interview.
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg had just introduced Mount when he began greeting the panel. Upon reaching Behar, she leaned in and kissed him. Another co-host, Sunny Hostin, pointed to the pair, eliciting laughter from the rest of the hosts. Following the kiss, Behar remarked, "I'm old, but I'm not dead." Mount responded, "That's good, Joy, because I am."
Behar later discussed the incident on the "Behind the Table" podcast. She explained to producer Brian Teta that she had been hearing about Mount all morning and had been making jokes about his name. "And then when he came out I just felt like kissing him," Behar said. She also shared that her husband, Steve Janowitz, texted her during the show, "Cut that out."
Mount joined the "The View" hosts to discuss his role in "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds." He reflected on his journey from White Bluff, Tennessee, to the captain's chair, calling it a "make-believe game when I was a child."
During Wednesday's broadcast, the co-hosts also engaged in a discussion about hearings concerning the Smithsonian Institution. Hostin argued that Republicans were targeting the Smithsonian as part of an effort by the Trump administration to avoid paying reparations to Black Americans. She contended that this reflected a broader attempt to alter the nation's historical narrative and evade accountability for the unpaid labor that built the country. Hostin drew parallels to truth and reconciliation commissions established for other historical injustices, stating that such commissions have not occurred for slavery because there is an effort to "bury the truth."