Joy Behar Under Fire for Darkening Her Skin to Dress as “A Beautiful African Woman”

Virginia politicians aren’t the only public figures coming under fire for wearing blackface. On Wednesday, a video resurfaced of The View‘s Joy Behar proudly discussingdressing as “a beautiful African woman” at a Halloween party decades ago. In the clip, from a 2016 (!) episode of The View, Behar explained that she put on “makeup that was a little bit darker than [her] skin,” and after showing a photo of the costume, she seemed to imply — despite Raven-Symoné’s repeated objections — that dressing like a black woman was okay because that was her “actual hair” at the time.

Behar’s reveal came during a discussion of a New York Times op-ed about “naturally curly hair” making a comeback. Behar said that curly hair was “a feminist statement,” and in an attempt to prove her point, the show displayed a photo of young Behar with a thick head of brown, curly hair. “Is that you, Joy?” asked Raven-Symoné. Her co-hosts echoed the sentiment, screaming is disbelief that this could be the same woman sitting across from them. “Joy, are you black?” said Raven-Symoné. “Are you my auntie, Joy?” Behar laughed, replying “I was so cute. Look how cute I was.”

“That is me,” said Behar. “I was 29. It was a Halloween party. I went as a beautiful African woman.” Raven-Symoné jokingly dismissed her, saying, “Oh, yeah, you mean ‘black.'” Behar wasn’t bothered by her co-host’s comment. “But that’s my hair. That’s my hair!” When Raven-Symoné frowned, Behar finally caught the hint. “Why are you upset with me now?” she asked. “Because I thought that was… did you have tanning lotion on, Joy?” asked Raven-Symoné. “I probably had makeup that was a little bit darker than my skin. But that’s my actual hair, though,” said Behar.

Raven-Symoné wasn’t the only one who questioned Behar’s costume. The longtime The View co-host was slammed on social media, particularly by conservative users.

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