The View’s Joy Behar on Wednesday remarked that far-right Fox News host Tucker Carlson should be “tied up and put in the corner somewhere so we never hear from him again”—a comment she quickly walked back after realizing it could be “perceived” as violent.
Earlier this week, the Fox News star drew condemnation for insisting that “there’s no evidence that white supremacists were responsible for what happened” at the Capitol insurrection. PolitiFact, meanwhile, rated Carlson’s claim as false, citing the number of rioters with known ties to white-supremacist groups who are now facing conspiracy charges, as well as the prevalence of white-supremacist symbols at the riot.
During The View’s discussion on the prior day’s Senate hearings probing the insurrection, co-host Sunny Hostin first took issue with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) attempting to push a deranged alternative reality that “fake Trump supporters” were responsible for the chaos and violence on Jan. 6.
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“You know, we hear so much from the right talking about cancel culture,” she declared. “What they don’t want is a culture of accountability. They don't want a consequence culture, and this is what it results in.”
Turning her attention to Carlson, Hostin said she was “disgusted” by his assertion that white supremacists weren’t involved in the riots, pointing out that Capitol Police office Harry Dunn—who is Black—recalled that rioters shouted the “n-word” at him dozens of times during the attack.
“How dare he say there was no evidence of white supremacy there?! There was evidence everywhere!” Hostin exclaimed.
Behar, however, would take Hostin’s criticism of the conservative Fox News host several steps further. “Tucker Carlson needs to be, you know, tied up and put in the corner somewhere so we never hear from him again,” the liberal comedian bellowed.
She then quickly pivoted to Sen. Johnson, claiming he “has become the perfect face for the Republican Party” because he’s a “denier” and “floats crazy conspiracy theories.”
Moments later, Behar jumped back in to backpedal and offer up a disclaimer.
“Can I just say one thing? I do not mean to imply that anything bad should happen to Tucker Carlson,” she said.
“I just want him to stop saying stupid things,” the longtime View host concluded. “That’s all. So let me just get that straight. I don’t want to be perceived as someone who is violent in any way. I’m not.”
