When “The View” moderator Whoopi Goldberg tried to argue that the ABC daytime talk show is always “fair and balanced,” co-host Paula Faris had just one thing to say: “I don’t think so.”
The panel got heating during a discussion about GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson and abortion rights, with Goldberg pointedly condemning the retired surgeon for his plan to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the U.S.
“Sir, no disrespect,” Goldberg said, addressing Carson through the camera directly. “Truly no disrespect, but it’s not your call. You don’t decide for anybody’s family here what they’re going through and what they need.”
The rest of the panel took turns calling Carson’s comments “despicable,” “pathetic” and “completely off,” leading Faris, who often finds herself in the minority arguing conservative viewpoints, to question the show’s fairness in reflecting both sides of an issue.
“We’ve also got to respect that not everybody in America believes the same way this panel does,” said Faris, who joined the show as a co-host for the new season in September. But before she could finish, Goldberg interrupted to argue that “nobody is saying that.”
“I feel like we are. We’re very much saying that,” Faris replied. “Regardless of our opinions about it, there are a lot of people here who are pro-life, and in our viewership. I just want to make sure we’re being fair and balanced.”
Goldberg dismissed the idea, saying, “We’re always fair and balanced, babe.”
She went on to argue that by having opposing viewpoints on the panel is how “The View” remains balanced. “There’s a lot of stuff that we don’t agree on, and that’s the name of the game,” she said before calling an end to the segment.