Co-host: Nene Leakes from Real Housewives of Atlanta

Hot Topics

• Last night was a rough evening for one of the View cohosts. Nicolle said, “I know Republicans aren’t supposed to complain – but –“ She went on to describe how her wonderful husband travels often and sometimes, after a day of working, it’s tiring to go home to her second job as Mom. Last night, “the wheels fell off,” and her young son dropped a five pound bag of flour on his head! Rosie O advised Nicolle to let her son play with the flour, which is exactly what Nicolle did. Her toddler kept busy with the flour for almost an hour, until the dog got into the act by attempting to eat the mess. Whoopi announced, “I am scared of your life right now!” Nicolle recovered from the night by relaxing with the DVR, The Voice, Adam Levine, and a glass of wine. She said being a television personality means she won’t be able to swear at her dog or her kid any more, but both Whoopi and Rosie O assured her, “Oh yes, you can!”

• A grand jury is expected to vote soon on the case of Eric Garner, who died after allegedly being subjected to an illegal choke hold by the NYPD back in July. Rosie O watched news coverage of the grand jury with her son and found it difficult to explain why the unarmed man died after being confronted by officers for selling loosies (untaxed cigarettes). Nicolle pointed out that the choke hold policy in NYC has been refined and the chokehold was outlawed for use by police in 1993. Attention to this case, she says, is an example of the power of cameras. Nene asked Rosie O, “Did you know what a loosie was?” Rosie O exclaimed, “No, I’m a nonsmoker!” She then asked if selling loosies is illegal. Nicolle explained how the selling of loosies is prohibited because the city wants the tax money from tobacco sales. She reminded everyone not to judge all cops by what we see in these videos. She feels that with cameras on police officers it will be easier to identify actual cases of wrongdoing.

Nicolle then mentioned Charles Barkley’s recent comments about how there are some black people who are bad, and some who are not. The cohosts agreed that people of all colors can be bad – with the exception of Hawaiian people, according to Rosie O. She said, “I’ve spent a lot of time there, and there are no bad Hawaiians.” Nicolle went on to describe Barkley’s comments about how people should protest peacefully, that that looting and rioting is ridiculous. Whoopi agreed, saying “Somebody went to work every day. Why take it out on them?” Rosie O recalled Martin Luther King’s words about riots being “the language of the unheard.” However, that doesn’t make it right. Whoopi feels the people who riot should put their thoughts on the Internet with their photos so everyone can see who they are.

• Michael Brown’s stepfather is being investigated for inciting riots with comments he made after the grand jury’s decision not to indict was announced. Rosie O believes the family has been through enough. As a parent, she can understand the emotions behind his comments in that moment and feels he should be forgiven. Nicolle pointed out that Michael Brown’s family has been aware of the attention on them throughout this story and the responsibility that goes along with that attention. She doesn’t think the stepfather’s comments are the reason people looted, but that his words didn’t help the situation either. Rosie O expressed her surprise at Michael Brown’s parents even being able to stand up at that moment, let alone speak. Nicolle agreed that video of the comments showed strong emotions. Whoopi mentioned the efforts Michael Brown’s parents have made by going around the world to speak for peace, saying they have done a lot of good since then. The cohosts all felt people should show compassion to everyone involved, including the officer.

• Rosie O loves Frozen! Whoopi referred to yesterday’s show when she “lost it” a little bit over Frozen’s lack of people of color. Rosie O then described how she watched the movie last night and took photos of all of the people in the movie who were beige to brown to black. She shared these photos, prompting Whoopi to exclaim, “There’s only one black woman. They keep moving her around and changing her dress!” Nicolle laughed, saying, “There are more black people in the Republican party!” Rosie O simply replied, “Ladies, let it go!”

• Dale Scott, a long-time umpire for Major League Baseball, recently came out as gay. Whoopi informed the audience that the MLB has long known of Scott’s marriage to his husband and never had an issue with it. Rosie O remarked that Scott’s husband is even on his health insurance policy.

• Nene’s huge sparkly ring caught Whoopi’s attention. Rosie O asked if the ring was real. Nene said, “No, it’s fake.” When Rosie O looked surprised, Nene laughed, saying, “Of course it’s real!” Rosie O asked if Nene traveled with armed guards to protect the ring. Whoopi asked about Nene’s current role as the wicked stepmother in Cinderella on Broadway. Nene said she loves the role, but it is very tiring. Her dressing room is full of flowers and art from fans. She will be appearing in Cinderella until January 3, 2015.

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• NFL player Darnell Dockett drew criticism for reposting a photo of Malia Obama on Instagram with the original poster’s caption of “When her prom?” Nene dislikes the idea of reposting negative things. She feels Dockett is too old to share photos of a 16 year old – he is not one of her peers. Rosie O thinks Malia is cute. She talked about how her now 17 year old daughter Chelsea looked older than her age when she was 12. Adult men would look at her in public, causing Rosie O to yell at them, “She’s only 12!” She described the experience as nerve-wracking. Nicolle pointed out that there’s nothing normal about being of dating age when you are the President’s daughter. Whoopi focused on another aspect of the Instagram post, saying to the original poster, “Punctuation is never a bad thing.”

• Gender segregation in some Austin, TX, schools is drawing criticism. Whoopi explained that some critics feel having boys and girls in separate schools reinforces gender stereotypes. Rosie O described the history of the decision, saying two Austin schools were failing. Students were performing sex acts in the bathrooms and teachers were struggling. School administrators decided to use one school for only boys and the other for the girls. After this change, performance improved. The cohosts agreed that parents need to decide what is the right school environment for each child. Whoopi commented on her elementary years, when kids didn’t even know what sex was. Nicolle mentioned the Internet’s effect on children, but Nene thought culture and society had more of an influence. Rosie O said kids used to have to go to the 7/11 and ask the guy behind the counter if the wanted to see something naughty, but now they can go online, type in one word, and see something damaging. The cohosts also mentioned television commercials as another source of sexualized content.

• A viral video remake of Sia’s video for Chandelier had the cohosts cracking up. After losing a Fantasy Football bet, a man recreated the video shot for shot. Nene said she loved it; it was fabulous!

Guest

Seth MacFarlane: The creator of Family Guy and Ted, Seth has just released a new holiday album. Rosie O expressed her long-time admiration for Seth and asked about his desire to be a Disney animator. Seth described his years at college, when movies like The Little Mermaid were coming out of the Disney studio. He wanted to be an animator for Disney, but when The Simpsons came to television he felt he was better suited to that kind of animation. He then animated the pilot for Family Guy. Whoopi asked if he recently Instagrammed his first drawing of Stewie. Seth described his process of designing a character, starting with the voice. With Stewie, he went through fifty designs before he was happy with it. Nicolle told Seth she thought his voice was incredible and that he’d find a whole new fan base with his singing. She asked what kind of music he grew up on. Seth said he got into big band music because of his grandfather and then, in college, discovered jazz and icons like Sinatra. He will be performing with the San Francisco Symphony on New Year’s Eve. Nene asked Seth if he would ever perform on Broadway. He replied that he is interested in the idea, but it would be a big time commitment. “I would love to write a musical,” he shared. Seth then impressed everyone with a great impression of Kermit the Frog, asking Rosie O, “Where your prom at?” Seth’s new album is titled Holiday for Swing. He performed the song “Let it Snow.”

Audience Giveaway

Each audience member received a copy of Seth MacFarlane’s album Holiday for Swing and an S+ sleep sensor from ResMed.