Did Joy Behar just break every rule of daytime talk show etiquette, or are we totally here for it? The 83-year-old View co-host caused absolute chaos on the July 22 episode when she planted a VERY enthusiastic kiss on married Star Trek: Strange New Worlds heartthrob Anson Mount during his interview segment. And honey, we’re not talking a quick peck on the cheek—this was a full-on lip-locking moment that had producers scrambling and audiences screaming into their phones.
The 53-year-old actor, looking absolutely gobsmacked, barely had time to sit down before Joy went in for the smooch. Now, normally we’d just laugh it off as another iconic Joy Behar power move (because let’s be real, the woman is legendary), but there’s one teeny tiny detail that’s making this situation absolutely SPICY: Anson Mount is MARRIED. His wife Darah Trang watched this whole debacle from home, and let’s just say the internet is having THOUGHTS about how she might be feeling.
Joy’s own husband, David Stead, has reportedly been nothing but supportive, because apparently he knows his wife well enough to understand that when you’ve been on television for decades, sometimes you just get overly enthusiastic about your guests. The man deserves a medal, honestly.
But the REAL tea? Twitter absolutely exploded. Fans are divided between those calling Joy a comedic genius who deserves a standing ovation and those clutching their pearls, insisting she crossed a line faster than you can say ‘hostile work environment.’ Some are even joking that Anson Mount should receive hazard pay just for appearing on the show at this point.
Anson handled the whole situation with the grace of someone who’s clearly been trained to roll with the punches on live television. He laughed it off, gave a cheeky interview about his new show, and probably spent the rest of the day explaining to his wife that yes, it was completely unexpected and no, he did not encourage it in any way.
The clip has been viewed millions of times, spawning memes, TikToks, and think pieces about the state of daytime television. Some are calling it inappropriate, others are calling it iconic. One thing’s for certain: Joy Behar just gave us the most talked-about moment of summer 2024.
What do you think? A) Joy is a legend and that was hilarious B) She totally crossed the line and needs to apologize