Host Update: Whoopi is still out this week because of an injured back and Rosie Perez is rehearsing her Broadway play.  Nicolle and Rosie O were joined by their guest co-hosts Laverne Cox and Cristela Alonzo.

Hot Topics:

About Last Night: Nicolle had a great time on Watch What Happens Live last night but said it was so late for her!  She called herself a “nerd” for complaining about staying up so late.  Other than that, she said it was an awesome experience.  She even took a shot with Andy!  Rosie said she’s only done shots once in her life when she was 19-years-old.  She went out to an Irish pub with some friends and they did one of every shot they had available.  She said the liquor tasted just as bad going down as it did coming back up and she’s never done a shot since.  Cristela just did some shots for her birthday!  She loves getting older because she feels like every year her life is even better than the year before.  Not only does Cristela not lie about her age, she likes to say she’s older than she is so people will tell her how fantastic she looks for her age.  Laverne said people like to make assumptions about you and where you should be in your life by a certain age, especially if you’re a woman.  She thinks it’s better not to talk about age at all.  Cristela said that’s especially true if you’re a Latina.  She’s 36, not married and doesn’t have kids yet.  She said she’s as rare as a unicorn in the Latin community!   She feels pressure all the time to get married from her family.  Rosie said, “It’s nice to know you can be the star of your own show on network television and your mother will still say, ‘What are you doing with your life?'”

American Idol Wrapup:  Laverne tuned in to American Idol last night mostly so she could see what Jennifer Lopez was wearing.  She thinks J-Lo is just beautiful.  Rosie and all the other ladies at the table agreed.  Rosie said when J-Lo was voted “Most Beautiful Woman” in People Magazine, her daughter Vivi had just learned to read.  After Vivi read that title on the People Magazine cover, it became a fact in her mind ever since.  Nicolle agrees and thinks J-Lo also defies the rules about what women should and shouldn’t be doing at certain ages.  Nicolle thinks J-Lo is “aging in reverse” and gets hotter and hotter every year.  She also thinks she’s an inspiration to women who are aging and trying to maintain their beauty.  Cristela said she always tried to emulate what J-Lo looked like by doing her makeup the same way.  In fact, she used to work as an assistant for J-Lo’s travel team.  Rosie said she’s very appreciative of J-Lo because she’s the Executive Producer of a show she’s on entitled The Fosters!

They discussed American Idol and whether or not the show ruined the ending of the audition shows by showing a silhouette of all the finalists.   Laverne liked that the show wasn’t really about spotlighting the bad singers but Nicolle thinks that’s what the show is missing.  Nicolle misses the “Simon Cowell aspect.”  But Rosie and Laverne think everyone is mean on reality TV now and it’s time for an evolution.  And Cristela agreed.  Cristela wished there were more reality TV shows that focus on the good in people.

Crisis in Paris: The hunt is still on for two of the three gunman who stormed the offices of the French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo. Yesterday, 12 people were killed who were publishing cartoons about Muslims and the profit Mohammed.  Writer and comedian Tiny Fey is calling this an attack on free speech and many others are saying the same. Rosie called it a very sad and scary event.  Nicolle said 12 people paid with their lives for practicing their right to free speech which is as cherished in Paris as it is here.  Laverne said there is always a price for free speech.  Whenever she’s on TV she’s very careful about what she says because there are always people ready to attack her.  But at the end of the day, she said she honors the right to have freedom of speech.  She said this incident is a reminder that people in other parts of the world don’t believe in that right.  Nicolle said this is an attack from an ideology that doesn’t believe in free speech.  Laverne said it’s a reminder about how courageous and dangerous it is to stand up for what you believe in.  Cristela thinks the best part about freedom of speech is when you rile people up because then you know what you’re saying is important and matters.

Laverne said as a trans-woman, she can’t help but think of this as an issue of language.  If you go to her Instagram, you can see examples of people always using the wrong pronoun when referring to her and as a trans-woman, that’s something very important to her.  It’s not about censoring others for their own freedom of speech but she also believes in respecting people for who they are.  She thinks it’s a complicated issue. Cristela believes respect went “out the window” when the Internet was created.  At first, Cristela saw the Internet as the new encyclopedia and a tool that was going to educate the world.  But what it became was a world of anonymity and a cesspool of horrible things said by strangers.  Nicolle said the counter-terrorism people all over the world are having this exact conversation.   She thinks we’ll see many more attacks like this against creative pursuits because of the Internet and the big debate in the government is whether or not we should take a look at the Internet as a tool for spreading this type of hatred.  Rosie said according to Edward Snowden we are already doing that.  But Laverne said the Internet also is used for good.  She said it gives many people a voice that did not have a voice before.  And Rosie agreed.  Rosie mentioned the Arab uprising in Egypt that happened thanks to the Internet and Laverne referenced the protests in Ferguson.  They both believe those events wouldn’t have been possible without the Internet and the connections made through social media.

How To Save Your Own Life: The story about the transgender teen that took her own life really devastated Laverne, the LGBT community and beyond.  A young woman named Leelah Alcorn took her own life by stepping in front of a tractor-trailer shortly after Christmas.  Her story went viral because she posted her suicide note on tumblr where she called out her parents for not allowing her to transition from a boy to a girl.  When she was 17-years-old she came out to her parents as transgender and her parents put her in conversion therapy, didn’t support her, and cut her off from all social media and her friends.  The isolation along with their disapproval made her feel like she would never become the woman she wanted to become.  Leelah’s death was very difficult for Laverne to talk about.  Laverne has talked publicly before about her own suicide attempt when she was just 11-years-old and whenever she hears about a young person taking their own life because they feel like it will never get better, she feels devastated.  It got better for Laverne when she was able to reach out and get support and when she was truly able to love herself.  She didn’t want to demonize the parents but she thinks by isolating Leelah and not supporting her, they did the absolute worst thing they could have done.  Laverne said there is always someone out there that loves you and teens need to try and remember that.  Rosie added that the rates of suicide among the LGBT youth is much higher than straight youth.  Laverne said that 41% of transgender people admit to having attempted suicide compared to just 1% of the rest of the population.  She thinks it’s partly because the transgender community lives in a world that doesn’t value or celebrate them.  It’s been so important for Laverne to understand that she’s beautiful, smart and amazing.

Rosie told Laverne that she has done more to advance visibility, acceptance, love and appreciation of the transgender community than anyone she has ever known.  She told Laverne, “Thank you” for all she has done.  She said for Laverne to stand in her truth so beautifully inspires so many people.  Nicolle watched Laverne’s documentary The T Word and wanted to know if there are support services for the parents of transgender youth.  Laverne mentioned The Trevor Project who she said has a suicide hotline.  Laverne said it was very hard for her mother to accept her but she’s come a long way and at the end of the day, her mom loves and supports her.  But it took some time for them to get to the place they are today.  Rosie always tells the gay teens who write her that it took them sometimes 18 years to come to terms with their sexuality and they have to give their parents more than a week to accept it too.

Justin Bieber: Justin Bieber is now the Calvin Klein underwear model.  Nicolle misses Marky Mark, she said.  She’s not a fan of Justin but thinks he looks nice in underwear.  Cristela likes Justin Bieber in the ads because he’s silent and he’s very pretty.  Just then the doorbell rang and Mario Cantone walked on stage!  He asked Nicolle if she was getting all the vitamins and minerals she needs and dragged her off the stage!  They did a little commercial for Centrum Silver vitamins about the importance of getting the vitamins you need every day.

Guests:

Kirstie Alley: She’s been raked over the coals by the tabloids for her struggles with weight but Kirstie Alley joined the program to show off her new svelte figure and to discuss how she did it!  This time she did Jenny Craig to lose weight and it worked because of all the yummy food.  It took her 9 months to get where she is now.  She also liked how Jenny Craig gave her her own consultant to help keep her in line.  Kirstie said she always loved food and for most of her life she could eat whatever she wanted.  Around the time she turned 53 however, she started to put on weight.  She lost 75 pounds and then gained it back.  She said thanks to the tabloids it appears as if she’s been fat her whole life but she’s really only been fat for 4 or 5 years of it.  She’s currently dating and for her, having sex when she was fat was never very good.  She was too inhibited to enjoy it when she was overweight.  Kirstie said she feels a certain responsibility as an actress to stay fit.  She thinks that’s fair but she doesn’t think it’s fair to make fun of her for her weight.  If you’d like to try the same diet as Kirstie, visit JennyCraig.com.

David Zinczenko:  ABC News Nutrition and Wellness Editor, and author of Zero Belly Diet, David Zinczenko joined the program to discuss with the ladies the 4 basic things we need to do to get heathy in 2015.

1. Eat more burgers! He said with every meal we should be asking, “Where’s my healthy fat, protein and fiber?”  He advised the audience to use lean beef, a gluten-free bun and add veggies to your burgers for the perfect meal.
2. Drink smoothies!  But not store bought smoothies.  David said to make your own smoothies with yummy fruits.
3. Eat plant-based protein.  That’s the hot new supplement of 2015.  David said to mix it into your oatmeal, pancakes, smoothies, etc.
4. Do an 8 minute exercise.  David said to take 2 hand-weights and squat down like you’re sitting in a chair then stand back up and do an overhead press.  Or as Rosie put it, “Take a poop and then reach for the sky!”  David said it’s a full body exercise and the only one you need.

 

Audience Giveaway: Members of the studio audience all went home with a copy of David Zinczenko’s book Zero Belly Diet and a Centrum gift bag with a Fitbit Zip!

Take a little time and enjoy The View!

written by Kelly Weist
KidRo Productions