WATCH: The Ladies of 'The View' Giggle, As Behar Reads Steamy Excerpts From Hostin's New Beach Book

In all my years of writing about ABC's "The View," I have yet to settle on a precise descriptor for the show and its often cartoonish cast of characters, but I have ruled out "incisive, cutting-edge, political analysis."

You see, when Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and the others aren't spending show time shredding Donald Trump (which is most of the time), you can rest assured that the hard-hitting political "journalists" are all over other hard-hitting news items.

For example:

In a Pulitzer-worthy Thursday show, things got pretty steamy when co-host Hostin enlisted 81-year-old co-host Behar to read an excerpt from Hostin's new book, "Summer on Sag Harbor," the second novel of Hostin's "bestselling Summer series." By the time Behar was finished reading the snippet, the grown women on the set were reduced to giggling bunches of goo, replete with reddened faces.

Before we get to the video, let's first review, via Amazon.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The View cohost and three-time Emmy Award winner Sunny Hostin spirits readers away to the warm beaches of Sag Harbor in the second novel of her bestselling Summer series.
Olivia Jones, hard-working and accomplished, has, against the odds, blazed an enviable career path in the finance world. But behind the veneer of her success, she is mourning several devastating losses and betrayals. Untethered from her life in New York City, Olivia moves to a summer home in The Hamptons.
Here, Olivia finds a close-knit community of African American elites who escape New York City for the beautiful beaches of the Hamptons. Since the 1930s, very few have known about this Historically Black Beachfront Community (HBBC), and the residents like it that way.

"That is," the Amazon reviewer continued, no doubt breathlessly, "until real estate developers discover the hidden gem. And now, the residents must fight for the soul of this HBBC."

The suspense is palpable — let's read on:

As the summer stretches on, Olivia teams up with her new friends to protect their community and, in doing so, discovers who she really is. Though not without cost, Olivia’s search for her authentic identity and her fight to preserve her new Black utopia, will lead her to redefine the meaning of love, friendship, community, and family—and restore her faith in herself and her chosen path.

So that's the set-up. Here's how the whole thing unfolded on the show:

To kick off the Hot Topic, moderator Whoopi Goldberg noted that a sex therapist recently told The New York Post that “reading erotica is more effective that watching it.” With that, Whoopi immediately tossed the question to Behar, who is known for encouraging a healthy sex drive.
True to form, Behar reiterated that her advice typically includes a drink on an empty stomach, a sexy book or movie, and then a new man.
“For some reason, I’m like the Dr. Ruth of this table,” she joked, referring to the German-American sex therapist who quite literally wrote “Sex for Dummies.”
So when Hostin offered up a potential book — “Summer on Highland Beach” the third in the series she wrote herself — Whoopi encouraged Behar to use Dr. Ruth’s German accent to read a portion. And yes, she really did.

OK, so I'm going to be careful here so as not to set off any censor alarms — if you know what I mean.

In a thick German accent, Behar began:

Desire hit her hard and fast. She was burning up, sparked by fire, lit by joy. (dropping accent) Really? (in renewed accent) She’d forgotten how delicious spearmint tasted on her lips.

Unfortunately — or fortunately, depending on one's point of view — Hostin wasn't satisfied. She wanted more, so she pointed to another passage for Behar to read. Befar first feigned pushing back.

Oh, it's so bad. You really want me to read that? Oh my god.

Welp, you're not going to read it here — at least not all of it — but here's a bit:

She finally honored his demand, cupped his ***, and guided him ..."

With the deed finally done, Behar buried her face in the book as the others stomped their feet and cheered.

Incidentally, other than the word I replaced with asterisks, there is no strong wording in the following clip.

Joy Behar reads an excerpt from "the perfect sexy Mother's Day gift," a book of smut written by Sunny Hostin:
"She finally honored his demand. She cupped his ass and guided him inside." pic.twitter.com/hjY3Fqmy8b
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) May 9, 2024