Joy Behar exposed Sara Haines’ past ‘lesbian relationship’ in front of her parents in a very awkward moment on The View on Wednesday.
As the segment aired live, Behar, 82, quizzed her co-host about the same-sex romance she had in college while her mother and father sat in the audience.
As Haines’ parents and the rest of the audience reacted in shock, fellow co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin reminded Behar that they were on the air and that she was bringing up something Haines, 47, had told them.” out of the air.”
The embarrassing moment occurred near the end of the show when co-host Whoopi Goldberg was discussing Haines and her parents’ upcoming appearance on the show’s Behind the Table podcast when Behar interrupted.
Joy Behar exposed Sara Haines’ past ‘lesbian relationship’ on The View on Wednesday
Haines’ parents, who were sitting in the audience, reacted in shock.
“I have to ask you a question,” Behar said, turning to Haines. ‘Are you going to mention that lesbian relationship you said you had at Smith (University)?’
Haines started laughing while his other co-hosts reacted in shock.
When the camera showed Haines’ parents in the studio audience, his father’s jaw dropped and his mother smiled.
‘Dad, earmuffs! ‘Earmuffs!’ Haines told him while miming with his hands over his ears.
“That was off the air when she told us that,” Griffin reminded Behar.
Sunny Hostin then joked, “It’s on air now.”
Haines made light of the awkward situation, joking, “It’s a good thing my dad doesn’t always see… But now he does.”
Goldberg added: “Now he will.”
During the live segment, Behar, 82, probed her co-host about the secret same-sex romance she had in college.
Haines did his best to laugh off the awkward moment.
Haines, who grew up in an “extremely conservative” home and attended a left-leaning women’s liberal arts college in Northampton, Massachusetts, said Television Insider As of 2016, she has been in an opposite-sex marriage to attorney Max Shifrin for a decade.
The longtime couple share three children: Alec, eight, Sandra, six, and Caleb, five.
There was also another moment on The View where Behar was the one who was asked about same-sex relationships while she was on air.
In June, a guest, comedian Sarah Bernhard, who is also openly gay, asked if Behar had ever “hit it off with a lady.”
Behar answered honestly, “No, but someday I will.” When Bernhard told her to “hurry up,” Behar said she “would do it when I was 90.”
Shortly after, Behar brought Haines into the conversation after the latter talked about having previously been to a lesbian bar in Manhattan.
When the camera cut to Haines’ parents in the studio audience, her father’s jaw dropped and her mother was clearly taken aback.
Haines has been married to attorney Max Shifrin for a decade. The longtime couple share three children: Alec, eight, Sandra, six, and Caleb, five; Pictured in April 2015 in New York City.
‘Have? I didn’t see you there!’ Behar joked. ‘She’s a closet lipstick-wearing lesbian!’
Behar has been a co-host of The View since the series’ inception in 1997. She took a brief break from the show in 2013 before returning two years later.
For her work on the daytime talk show, she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2009.
Haines, meanwhile, has been a co-host on and off since joining the group in 2016.
The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.