Hot Topics:

• About Last Night: In case you missed it, Whoopi started off expressing her concern over what almost happened on yesterday’s show! Apparently, when actor Jeff Garlin decided to strip down to his skivvies, Rosie O briefly considered stripping down to hers too as a show of solidarity. Rosie O said she felt as a fellow comedian, when one person jumps in the pool you want to jump in with them! Then she realized she had no underwear on so she decided not to join Jeff with the pantless bit. Nicolle pointed out that they’re actually not supposed to take their pants off on network television. But Whoopi said it was all for fun. She also encouraged viewers to follow The View on Twitter where they can join in on the conversation and the fun! Rosie P, who is a huge boxing fan, will be attending the premiere of Mohammad Ali’s new documentary I am Ali tonight along with her husband and cousin. She said a lot of fighters claim to be the greatest but no one can compare to Muhammad Ali. She was really excited to see the premiere tonight.
• Whoopi Hosts the Clio’s: Last night Rosie O was exhausted and went to sleep at 8:06pm, to be exact. She said she slept the whole night and unfortunately missed the chance to see Whoopi host the Clio’s but heard she was hysterical! Whoopi had a great time hosting the awards and said she’s a sucker for a great commercial. She once bought a car because of a great commercial! Nicolle got married in Greece because of a great commercial. Rosie O also bought a car because of a commercial. She bought a Kia Soul because of the hamster commercial and said she loves it.
• Ebola In Hawaii: A second person in the United States, this time a man in Hawaii, has been diagnosed with Ebola. It turns out they sent him home when he first came to the hospital showing symptoms. Nicolle said what’s really scary is he described the exact symptoms of Ebola when he went to the E.R. and they still didn’t test him for it. She said she has a friend who was part of a camera crew that just got back from West Africa covering the Ebola crisis and no one at the airport even questioned them about their symptoms. And they were COVERING the outbreak! Rosie P thinks America needs to get this under control. Rosie O joked we need to give anyone coming home from West Africa that may have been exposed to the virus a special t-shirt to wear for two weeks after they return so medical professionals can spot them.
• A Rash of Student Teacher Sex Scandals: Rosie P specifically addressed the story that stemmed from Brooklyn from a school the mayor’s son attends. She called it “horrific” and said this problem of inappropriate teacher/student relationships needs to be addressed. Whoopi agreed and asked, “Who is to blame?” Rosie O wondered if it’s more prevalent today because today’s society is sex obsessed. She referenced the MaryKay Letourneau case in which a female teacher had sex with a male student. She said that case was looked at differently because it was an older female with a younger male instead of the other way around. She said there should be no differentiation. She said even when the genders are changed it doesn’t diminish the imbalance of power that is innate in an adult/child sexual relationship. Rosie O continued and said sex with a child is never okay. Nicolle said the teachers union has come under fire for perhaps not vetting school personnel appropriately. Nicolle continued and said this may be a part of a larger conversation we need to have about society being over-sexualized and inappropriate relationships between students and teachers occurring outside the classroom because of things like social media.
• Netflix vs. Movie Theater Wars: After Netflix announced they will have the sequel to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon the same day movie theaters release it, several major movie theater chains have said if Netflix does that, they won’t carry it. Rosie P thinks this is going to backfire on the major movie theater chains like it did to the music industry when Napster was created. But at the same time, she said, as an actor she’s concerned this will cut into their salaries. She said only 1% of actors and actresses make the really big bucks in film. Nicolle thinks if movie theaters are going to survive with the times maybe they should sell family tickets as opposed to charging per individual. She said that might make it more affordable for families to attend. Whoopi thinks maybe the movie industry is simply spending too much to make movies and that’s continually causing ticket prices to go up.
• Tom and Jerry Depicts Prejudice: Now that you can download the Tom and Jerry cartoons on demand on Amazon instant video, there’s a warning that comes with each episode (may depict scenes of racial and ethnic prejudice). Rosie P didn’t think the warning was necessary. She said one of her favorite cartoons Bugs Bunny depicts prejudice and she loves Bugs Bunny. Whoopi agreed and said it’s part of America’s culture.   She said that’s not how we do things now, but it once was how things were. Rosie O said she has compassion for people over 70 who say racist things when they’re not really trying to be mean or racist. She used Paula Dean as an example. She said Paula should “up her game” and learn from her behavior but we shouldn’t crucify her for it either.
• A Political Cartoonist Getting Heat: Whoopi discussed a recent political cartoon satirizing the White House intruder that depicts the intruder in Obama’s bathtub as he brushes his teeth with watermelon flavored toothpaste. The cartoonist said it never occurred to him that the flavor of the toothpaste might be seen as racist. Whoopi believed it could have been an honest mistake but Rosie P was having none of it. Whoopi said they (African Americans and Puerto Ricans) live with racism every day but maybe the cartoonist didn’t think about it because he doesn’t live with racism like they do. Rosie P still wasn’t convinced. And she said the show Friends used to piss her off because the characters never ran into one black person or Puerto Rican! Rosie O said she was suspicious when she first saw it until Whoopi told her there really was a watermelon-flavored toothpaste. Nicolle said, putting the flavor of the toothpaste aside, what’s really crazy about the cartoon is how close to the truth it really was!
• Secret Service Director Resigns: The Director of the Secret Service has resigned. Nicolle said the Director was a 30-year veteran of the Service who was brought in a year and a half ago following the Secret Service prostitution scandal. She said the agency is leaderless and this is what happens in many organizations when they become disconnected from its leadership. Whoopi didn’t remember these types of security breaches ever happening during the Clinton and Bush years. Nicolle agreed. She said if you saw this scenario in the movies you’d never believe it. And she said when she was a vetted White House staffer it would take her 20 minutes to get passed all the security levels they have in place. She said it’s not consistent with what she knows about the Secret Service. Rosie P is really disturbed by Ronald Kessler’s statement that said if Obama gets assassinated it’s his own fault. She wanted to know if that means it’s JFK’s fault he was assassinated. Whoopi was incensed and said she thought we didn’t talk about assassinating our President. Nicolle said what Kessler said was inexcusable and the editor apologized but they didn’t retract the article. Whoopi ended the discussion saying if something like an assassination happens, “Dude, it’s on you.”
• Viral Video: Kid flexing muscles. Rosie O said she follows her baby around 24 hours a day trying to capture those moments to no avail!

Guests:

Melissa Etheridge: Grammy and Oscar award winning singer Melissa Etheridge was in the house! She sat with Rosie for an intimate conversation in which they reminisced about the past and their longtime friendship. She discussed marrying the love of her life, raising their four children and making it to her 10 year anniversary of being a breast cancer survivor! Melissa revealed that being diagnosed with breast cancer was one of the best things that’s ever happened to her because it was a wakeup call. It allowed her to be still and take a look at her life in order to realize she’s a physical body and spirit.

Melissa has a new album out that she released on her own without a label. The album is entitled This Is M.E. She said the album cover is a photo of her made up of smaller photos of all her fans because her fans make her who she is. Melissa sang Monster for the studio audience and audience at home.

Rosie & Melissa Etheridge

Audience Gift: Everyone in the studio took home Melissa Etheridge’s new album This Is M.E.

Quote-ables:

Nicolle: “What I learned is that you’re not actually supposed to take your pants off on network TV.”

Whoopi: “I hate being told what to do.”

Rosie P: “An actor’s life is very difficult. Sometimes you work and sometimes you don’t.”

Rosie O: “As a comic I’m like, one person jumps in the pool you jump in with them.”

Melissa Etheridge: “My health, my spirt and my body come first before anything else.”

And that’s what you missed!