Hot Topics:

• Andy Cohen, host of Watch What Happens Live, joined the ladies at the table to discuss today’s hottest topics!  
• Janay Rice Speaks Out: Ray Rice had his suspension lifted after it was determined that the NFL overstepped their boundaries.  Now his wife Janay is speaking out about the apology she issued at the original press conference. Janay is saying that the NFL suggested she apologize for her role in the incident.  Janay says she does accept some blame because she too broke the law and got arrested.  Rosie O said there’s now speculation whether another team will want to draft Ray Rice.  Whoopi is sure some other team will take him since he’s such a good football player and since this is the first time he’s had any kind of problems with the law.  Whoopi thought it was true that Janay shouldn’t have put her hands on Ray either, because you never know how someone is raised and what could happen if you do.  She’s also happy Janay was so resolute in her knowing that this incident would not mean the end of their relationship.  Rosie P pointed out that Ray Rice spat on his wife before she hit him, so that might have been what caused her to lash out.  She agrees that women should not hit men, but she firmly believes a man should never hit a woman, especially when you’re a strong man like a football player.  She’s glad he apologized and said it’s not for them to judge their marriage.  Rosie P was really bothered by the attacks against Janay from other women.  She thinks we should offer compassion for victims of domestic violence and Rosie O agreed.  Rosie O mentioned a new documentary on HBO entitled Private Violence that talks about why women stay and what the advice is if you’re in this situation.  She said millions of Americans are in violent homes trying to live and most of us cannot even imagine what it’s like for them.  Nicolle said she thinks the NFL deserves a “smack” for botching this at every level.  She said domestic violence is a serious issue and playing in the NFL is a privilege.  She’s mostly concerned that nothing will change in the NFL because of this incident.  Andy wondered what message it will send for the next team who drafts Ray Rice.  He knows Ray’s a great player and apologized but he worries about the message it sends.  Whoopi said if Ray doesn’t get to play then no one should be playing in the NFL because many players have committed crimes and still play.  Whoopi said it’s so rare of Ray Rice to do this and appreciated the fact that he admitted to his wrong-doing from the beginning.  Rosie P said most men who would cold-clock their woman would be in jail.  Rice didn’t serve any jail time and that’s most likely what the public has a problem with.  Whoopi said none of us are married to Ray so we don’t deserve an apology from him or need to “forgive” him.  Nicolle said she’s ready to leave the family alone but she doesn’t think the NFL should get off the hook because they have an arbitrary and inconsistent policy when it comes to domestic violence.
  

  Andy and the ladies discussing Janay Rice

• New Star Wars Trailer: The new Star Wars trailer is blowing up the internet right now and fans across the galaxy are cheering in anticipation of the movie’s release.  Rosie O is a self-proclaimed “Star Wars freak,” she’s been to conventions, she has all the dolls, and she said she got chills when she saw the trailer!  So did Andy.  Though Andy admitted they could simply show dirt with the theme song in the background and he would probably get chills.  Whoopi was almost more excited for the Lego version of the new Star Wars trailer!
• Whoopi on The Tonight Show: They showed a clip of Whoopi from a recent appearance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. It was a pretaped interview and she had to address all the serious things going on in the world (such as Ferguson) and when Jimmy asked her about the topic she yelled out, “I need a minute!”  She wanted to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving for a minute before having to delve into such serious topics on the show.  When she got home, she said people in her neighborhood were opening their windows and yelling, “I need a minute!”
• World AIDS Day: Rosie P was wearing red in honor of World AIDS Day.  She explained how there are 34 million people still living with AIDS and 35 million people have died from the terrible disease.  She said they’re still hoping for a cure.  Nicolle said she’s proud of our last 3 presidents: Clinton, Bush and Obama who have made great strides in dealing with the AIDS epidemic.  Rosie P said when it comes to the issue of AIDS we must be bipartisan.  She said everyone who has contributed to the fight against AIDS deserves accolades for the progress they’ve made.  Rosie O has lost friends to AIDS, as they all have, and she wanted to give a loving shout-out to one of her friends, Mary Fisher, who at the Republican convention was the first person to really speak publicly about her struggle with the virus.  Rosie O was happy to report that Mary is still alive and thriving.  Rosie O said Mary is an inspiration to everyone.  Whoopi reminded the young people watching that they are not immune to AIDS and they should always protect themselves.  Andy said he has been a gay man living in NYC for 25 years who is still alive today because he protected himself.  And he would NOT be alive if he hadn’t protected himself.  Whoopi said everyone needs to “wrap themselves up” and protect themselves.
• Fear and Fallout in Ferguson: Protests continued throughout the weekend in Ferguson.  Andy said he’s so proud to be from St. Louis but he’s been bewildered at the handling of this case since the start.  He mentioned that Darren Wilson resigned and he’s wondering when the Ferguson chief of police will resign.  He doesn’t understand how that police department continues to work successfully in the community with him in charge.  Rosie P was so impressed with Black Out Black Friday protests.  Rosie O said humanity got the point across through their peaceful protests.  She said we should also not demonize Darren Wilson who is in an unwinnable situation in one of the most segregated places in this country.   She thinks that the circumstances and the setup there made it impossible for peace.  She said we have to look at the situation in a much larger way.  Everyone at the table was touched by the photo of the 12 year old boy embracing a police officer at a protest that went viral this weekend.  Nicolle said this situation won’t get better until the police force starts connecting again with the people they’re supposed to protect.  She mentioned a story about a Ferguson police officer who refused to wear a gas mask when out dealing with the protesters of Ferguson because he didn’t want his face to be hidden from the people he protects.  She said we need a million acts like that until things will start to get better there.  Whoopi loved that story too and called the police officer remarkable for showing the protesters that he’s a person too.  Rosie O mentioned the St. Louis Rams who came out of the tunnel before a football game this weekend with their hands up.  Nicolle said the players actually got into a lot of trouble for making that statement.  She said the spokesman for the St. Louis police department said they were being disrespectful of the police officers that kept the game safe.  Whoopi said maybe if we assume the best in others, instead of the worst, we could assume the players weren’t being disrespectful but were raising their hands in solidarity with their town.
• Frozen 2: Rosie O was beyond delighted to announce that there is going to be a Frozen 2!  Rosie O begged the creators to let her be a troll, even if she only has one line.  Andy said when he heard that news his first reaction was, “I’m so happy for Rosie!”
• Aides Behaving Badly: Republican aide, Elizabeth Lauten, is under fire for a Facebook post she made about how the First Daughters carried themselves at the turkey pardon before Thanksgiving. Nicolle said if there was a “thought bubble” above the president’s head it would surely say, “This is the dumbest event on my calendar.”  She thinks the Obama daughters are beautiful and magnificent.  She said dissing the children of a president will live with this woman’s career forever.  Rosie P called the aide’s comments “appalling.” She said the president’s daughters have nothing to do with the political conversation.  Rosie O said the aide must not have teenagers.  She merely tries to get her teens to go somewhere for her and she gets ‘tude for it never mind asking them to stand by a turkey as it is pardoned!  Andy said it’s a lesson for everyone that we are all one tweet or Facebook post away from getting fired or destroying ourselves.  He said you have to think before you tweet and he’s often wondering if any comment he makes on social media is the comment that’s going to get him fired.  Whoopi said as an adult, it’s fine if you have an issue with the president or the first lady, tweet them, but don’t go after the daughters because you disagree with their parents.  She thinks Elizabeth’s mom and dad need to sit her ass in the corner!
• Body By Jake: The ladies and Andy all discussed how incredibly ripped Jake Gyllenhaal is looking for his newest role in the movie Southpaw! They discussed how actors often take on physical transformations for their art and Rosie O joked that she’s actually gaining weight for a movie she’s writing.

The Ladies of The View and Andy Cohen!
(photo credit ABC The View)

Must Have Mondays: The View has partnered with select vendors to offer the hottest gifts of the season to viewers for up to 78% off the retail price.  You can see all the items they’re offering HERE while supplies last!

Guest:

Andy Cohen: Andy Cohen sat down with the ladies of The View to discuss his new memoir entitled The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look At a Shallow Year.  The book is a diary of his life over the past year and he said it was inspired by the The Andy Warhol Diaries.  Andy said the The Andy Warhol Diaries reads today like a pop-culture time-capsule and he wanted to do something similar so he wrote a diary of his year regarding pop-culture and published it to see what happens!  He joked it could be called Diary of a Name Dropper because he drops so many names in the book.  Rosie P said that she’s in the book and Andy said she was drunk on his show!  He simply responded, “Well, sweetie.  You weren’t sober.”  But he said it’s okay because he made her the drinks!  He said none of the celebrities he mentions in the book have been terribly angry about what he discusses.  He said it really was about dishing on the backstage happenings at his show and what it’s like being him for a year.  But he still wants to be able to book guests on his show so it’s not mean-spirited.  He said he is a celebrator of life and people and he wanted that to come across in the book.  He admitted he’s truly a super-fan.  Andy made People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive issue in the section about sexy men who love their dogs!  He said the diary is also a love story between him and his dog whom he rescued about a year ago.  Andy said he’s dating and he’s actually on Tinder to which Nicolle and Whoopi responded, “What’s Tinder?”  Andy explained what Tinder was for the ladies and the studio audience.

Audience Giveaway: Members of the studio audience went home with a Colorful Flat Iron by Eva NYC (as seen in the Must Have Monday segment) and a copy of The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year in print and the audio version!

Quoteables:

Nicolle:  [regarding AIDS as a political issue] “You now actually have three Presidents: President Clinton, President Bush and President Obama who have made equal and admirable strides for really dealing with this issue.  It is the only terrain that is purely nonpartisan where everybody is equally committed.”  
Rosie P: [about Andy Cohen getting Rosie P drunk on his show] “I’m a cheap date!”
Whoopi: [regarding the AIDS epidemic] “All  you young people, you are not immune to this. This disease does not care how old you are.”
Rosie O: “I am a Star Wars freak.”
Rosie O: [to the producers of Frozen 2] “Please let me be a troll.  Even if I have one line.  Just ONE LINE!”
Andy Cohen: [regarding AIDS] “I have been a gay man living in NYC for 25 years and I’m still alive because I protected myself.  I would not be alive if I hadn’t protected myself.  ”
Andy Cohen: “We are all one tweet and one Facebook post away from getting fired or destroying ourselves.”