Epstein files sparked debate about The view when Joy Behar explained the appearance of her name after Whoopi Goldberg clarified that she was never a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, but was listed because of an airline inquiry.
The ongoing release of millions of pages linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has drawn renewed attention to celebrity names mentioned in the documents.
On Thursday’s episode of The viewco-host Joy Behar spoke about why her name appears in the files and joined fellow panelist Goldberg in clarifying the circumstances.
The 83-year-old told the audience that “the list has a lot of crazy names on it,” stressing that neither she nor Goldberg have been accused of wrongdoing.
“That’s almost a way to muddy the waters. So you’re saying Whoopi is on the list, and so am I, I guess. We’re on the list because we were at a party or a wedding or something that someone [else] could have been [at]”, Behar explained.
She recalled attending Donald Trump’s wedding to Marla Maples, speculating that Epstein might have been in attendance.
“That means I’m not guilty, of course, but these others, how do you decide who’s guilty and who’s not? It’s very difficult,” she added.
Goldberg, meanwhile, has clarified that her name came up because of email correspondence about finding a private jet for a charity event in Monaco.
“If you look, you know why my name is there because somebody was looking for a plane, and that’s what people do. They go to all the people who have private planes and say, ‘Do you have one?'” Goldberg said.
She emphasized that she never boarded the plane and had no knowledge of the arrangement.
Earlier this week, Goldberg explained that the emails referred to her trip to Julian Lennon’s White Feather Foundation event, noting: “It says, ‘Whoopi needs a flight to get to Monaco… Julian Lennon’s charity is paying for it.’
Legal expert and co-host Sunny Hostin, a former federal prosecutor, added perspective:
“There are lots of named people on the list who may have done nothing wrong, but I think there are a lot of people on the list who are guilty of wrongdoing.”
