'Rude' Joy Behar Faces Backlash After Kissing Male Guest on 'The View' — As Actor Claims He Asked Wife to 'Promise' Not to Divorce Him
Joy Behar was slammed on social media for kissing a male guest.
July 23 2026, Published 3:24 p.m. ET
Joy Behar is facing backlash after her shocking kiss with a male guest on The View, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The incident occurred on the July 22 episode of the chat-fest as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds actor Anson Mount walked out to greet the panel of hosts.
Joy Behar Shockingly Kisses Male Guest
Joy Behar pulled Anson Mount in for a kiss on the lips.
Initially, he kissed Behar on the cheek. As he pulled back, he paused briefly and appeared to be going in for another peck when she pulled him in for a longer kiss on the lips with her arm wrapped around his neck.
Mount, 53 – who has been married to his wife, Darah Trang, since 2018 – appeared stunned, and his eyes widened during the seemingly unexpected moment of PDA.
He laughed it off, and later, he could be seen wiping lipstick marks from his face.
Sunny Hostin joked, "No wonder Joy has been talking about you all morning."
Behar retorted, "You know something? I’m old, but I’m not dead."
Later, the 83-year-old quipped, " Last time he was here, he brought me flowers for my birthday, and it’s never been the same between us."
When Mount replied that he "got married," Behar said, "I know, that's what I mean."
Joy Behar Slammed Online
Critics called the moment 'rude' and 'sickening' online.
As the viral moment spread across social media, Behar was criticized online by viewers who called her "rude" and accused her of "sexual harassment."
One X user wrote, "She’s 30 years older than him!" and another person claimed, "Look how uncomfortable he is. Reverse genders this would be a big deal."
A third critic agreed, "Can you imagine if a male host did this?" and a fourth person added, "How is this kind of behavior ok? Your hosts and Behar support the (#MeToo) movement but yet take advantage of a man? Sickening."
Another user said, "Shame on anyone not calling this out. Had this been a man, the Internet would have been on fire. It's unwanted. Now, if he agreed, that's a different story."
It is unclear if the moment was at all staged or discussed in any way beforehand.
Anson Mount Speaks Out on Viral Kiss
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Anson Mount said his wife thought it was 'hilarious.'
During an interview with TV Insider, Mount clarified that the on-air moment was at least well-received by his wife and did not negatively affect his marriage.
"I asked my wife to promise me she wouldn’t divorce me," he quipped. "She thought it was hilarious."
The Hell on Wheels star also joked that he hadn't heard much about the kiss, despite it going viral.
"I think people just assume that I’m not around anymore because I have two young kids," he said, referring to his daughters, Clover and Violet. "I think maybe they were surprised to see that I’m still alive."
He also confirmed that the last time he saw Behar, he did bring her "flowers for her birthday."
"I guess I made an impression," he continued. "So, we’ll see what she does the next time."
