Following a whirlwind of backlash regarding their comments about Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson’s monologue about being a nurse during the Miss America pageant, the hosts of “The View” attempted to clear the air.
But first, a loose timeline of events: On Monday’s episode, the hosts were discussing the Miss America pageant — specifically the talent portion — and Johnson’s monologue was brought up as a topic. Instead of opting for a traditional talent such as singing or dancing, Miss Colorado opted to perform an original monologue about her experiences as a nurse.
“She came out in a nurse’s uniform and basically read her emails out loud and, shockingly, did not win,” joked co-host Michelle Collins. “I swear to God, it was hilarious.”
Joy Behar was also criticized for questioning why Johnson was wearing “a doctor’s stethoscope.”
Many viewers accused Collins and Behar of being disrespectful and mocking an important profession. Nurses everywhere banded together on Twitter and hit back with #NursesUnite and some even penned open letters to the hosts. Johnson & Johnson and Eggland’s Best also withdrew their ads from the show following the comments.
On Wednesday, Michelle Collins addressed the criticism, claiming that her words were “taken out of context” and “misconstrued.”
“I was not talking about her as a nurse. I was talking about the talent competition and it got misconstrued,” Collins said. “We love nurses. We adore you. We respect you. You guys are wonderful.”
Behar added that she was just being “stupid and inattentive” when she added her two cents into the mix.
“I did not know she was a nurse. I’m used to seeing [the contestants] in gowns and bathing suits, so it’s not like I was trying to be funny,” she said. “It was just stupid and inattentive on my part. I didn’t know know what the hell I was talking about.”
We bet they’re paying a lot more attention now. Johnson herself went on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Thursday to defend her monologue, saying, “My talent is taking care of people and caring about other people.”
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