The View’s Joy Behar sparks uproar over ‘tone-deaf’ comment about Russia-Ukraine crisis

Presenter lamented having to cancel her forthcoming holiday to Italy

The View’s Joy Behar has been criticised for making a “tone-deaf” comment about the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

On Thursday (24 February) morning, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a “full-scale invasion” in the east of Ukraine.

Hours afterwards, the topic was being discussed on US chat show The View, when presenter Behar shared her frustration at having to cancel her forthcoming holiday to Italy as a result.

Her co-host Sunny Hostin described the “heartbreaking” future impact the attacks would have on the people of Ukraine and the refugee crisis it would cause.

Responding, Behar said: “I’m scared of what’s going to happen in western Europe, too.

“You plan a trip, you want to go there, I’ve wanted to go to Italy for four years and I haven’t been able to make it because of the pandemic and now this. It’s like, what’s gonna happen there?”

Viewers took to Twitter to accuse the presenter of “narcissism” for focusing on her family holiday at a time of international crisis.

“#JoyBehar is worried about her vacation in the midst of tens of thousands of Ukrainian people possibly dying. Extreme #narcissism. @TheView is such shallow programming!” one Twitter user wrote.

Another added: “Joy Behar can always be counted on to focus on the real victims – privileged rich people who haven’t been able to go to Italy for four years.”

However, some Twitter users came to the presenter’s defence, with one writing: “I think she was trying to say the consequences are going to ripple. Cutting her some slack.”

“She’s almost 80. She knows she has limited time in this planet. She already lost 2 years to the pandemic. She’s actually saying what many people are thinking,” one user wrote.

In a statement shared with The Independent Behar’s representative said that the comments had been taken out of context.

“The context of this was the world was finally getting back to normal and now it’s not… again,” they said.

“Joy is one of the most compassion people I know and she has been [talking] about how out of control Putin is all week long.”

Behar isn’t the only celebrity to comment on the escalating crisis in eastern Europe. You can read more reactions – some sensitive, some less so – here.