Barbara Walters told Joy Behar to stop mocking Monica Lewinsky on The View: 'She made me stop'

Joy Behar might've let it all out during her career as a stand-up comedian, but she says the talk show's founding mother, the late Barbara Walters, once made her sit down on a specific subject during the early days of The View.

The 81-year-old cohost revealed on Wednesday's episode of the Behind the Table podcast that, while she once enjoyed mocking political figures like George W. Bush — whom she called "not the brightest bulb" — during her since-paused career as a stand-up comic, the presidency of Barack Obama made her stop because it was "hard to criticize" a leader she supported. Though, she still stressed that she enjoyed taking shots at other Democrats — particularly President Bill Clinton, following his highly publicized scandal in having an affair with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky in the late '90s.

"Bill Clinton, when he did the number with Monica Lewinsky, I used to do — on this show — 'Monica's Diary' installments. Barbara put up with it," Behar told producer Brian Teta on the podcast episode (above), referencing a recurring satirical segment where she would speculate on Lewinsky's inner thoughts.

"Then, [Barbara] made me stop for a while, because she was trying to book her," Behar continued. "And then, after she booked her, I said, 'Can I go back to the Monica material?' And she said yes."

In 2021, Behar previously expressed that she did not regret joking about Lewinsky on the show, amid a widespread re-examination of the media's treatment of Lewinsky during the Clinton scandal.

Lisa Ling, journalist and former View cohost, additionally opened up about how she regretted taking jabs at Lewinsky during her time on the program, particularly after she ran into Lewinsky at an event, and joked to her cohosts the following day about the affair.

"My heart sunk," Ling told current panelist Sara Haines on a 2021 episode of Behind the Table. "It was so not me to say something like that about someone who had kind of confided in me about something personal that she had experienced."

The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.

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