Andy Cohen wants Joy Behar to spill the tea on her time on The View — especially the Rosie O’Donnell years.
“Andy Cohen is on his knees begging me to do a book,” Behar, 81, told The View executive producer Brian Teta on the Wednesday, October 25, episode of the “Behind the Table” podcast while discussing celebrity memoirs.
When Teta, 47, asked Behar if she ever journals about the talk show, Behar confessed she only “kept a diary” the first year that O’Donnel, 61, was on the show.
Like Cohen, 55, Teta agreed that “people would go crazy” if she published a book. While Behar is aware that the recount of O’Donnell’s rocky stint would do well, she made it clear writing a tell-all wasn’t something she wanted to do.
“Remember that book You’ll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again?” Behar asked. “The girl writes a book and talks about things like … one movie star has B.O., another one has bad breath. And then she can’t … You’ll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again is a good title for the book.”
After giving it some thought, Teta agreed that writing a book wasn’t the best idea but he was surprised Behar was so against it since she’s candid with her thoughts.
“For someone who’s known for saying whatever’s on her mind at all times, you do hold a lot back, because the conversations in your dressing room are a whole other level,” Teta shared to which Behar replied, “Do you think I’d be on the show for 27 years if I did not hold something back?”
While Behar didn’t dive into Cohen’s request, he is a known fan of The View — and launched a nonfiction imprint with Henry Holt in 2020.
Behar has been a staple on The View since 1997. In 2013, Behar was briefly fired from the daytime series but ultimately brought back in 2015. O’Donnell joined The View for the 2006-2007 season to replace Meredith Vieira. In her first season, the comedian made waves at the roundtable as she clashed with fellow cohost Elisabeth Hasselbeck and had a public feud with Donald Trump. O’Donnell exited the talk show in April 2007. She briefly returned to the morning show in 2014 before exiting for good in 2015.
Since her exit from The View, O’Donnell has spoken out about her time on the program
“I know this, it’s not the best use of my talent to get in a show where I have to argue and defend basic principles of humanity and kindness. It was not something I’d ever do again,” O’Donnell said on an April episode of the “Now What? With Brooke Shields” podcast.
