Comedian Joy Behar may have finally put to rest a controversy that erupted in February after she linked the Christian faith with “mental illness.”
An appeal by Vice President Mike Pence on Monday night for ABC’s “The View” to address the content of a Feb. 13 appears to have worked. Host Whoopi Goldberg turned the floor over to Ms. Behar on Tuesday, who then looked into the camera and unequivocally apologized for saying, “he thinks Jesus tells him to say things … Scary.”
“I think Vice President Pence is right,” Ms. Behar said of his request to apologize to millions of Christians. “I was raised to respect everyone’s religious faith, and I fell short of that. I sincerely apologize for what I said.”
Mr. Pence told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday that he received a private phone call from Ms. Behar after her on-air comments, forgave her for the broadcast, and then encouraged her to use her bully pulpit to do the same.”
“I said to Joy, of course I forgive you,” Mr. Pence siad. “That’s a part of my faith experience. But, I did encourage her, and I’m still encouraging her to use the forum of that program or of some other public forum to apologize to tens of millions of Americans who were equally offended.”
Mr. Pence’s interview on “Hannity” came less than one week after Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed Ms. Behar’s private apology at a shareholder meeting.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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