Comedian Joy Behar stuck her entire foot in her mouth when she tried to make a point about Black people and vaccines on The View on Oct. 7. Behar and the other hosts were discussing why so many Black people are wary about the vaccine.
The 79-year old conceded that Black Americans have been subjected to horrible experiments by the United States government and understood why so many Black people were afraid to get vaccinated. She cited the Tuskegee experiments that took place from 1932 to 1972.
The United States Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tortured Black men who had syphilis with experiments masquerading as medical treatments without the men knowing.
The co-hosts discussed how to get more hesitant Black people vaccinated when Behar inserted her foot and joked that Black people should feel safe getting vaccinated because this time, the white people were the experiment.
“How do they get through to people like the black audience, for instance, the African American community, who has been burnt in the past by these Tuskegee experiments and things coming out that have harmed them,” she said. “I don’t blame that community for being skittish about it, but I say that so many white people have gotten it now, you know, the experiment has been done on white people now.”
…@JoyVBehar: Black people shouldn't be hesitant of COVID vaccine because white people were the ‘experiment’ #COVID #VaccineMandate #JoyBehar #BlackPeople pic.twitter.com/EN8bvnGP3h
— Dan Adams (@DanAdamsPGH) October 8, 2021
Behar was quickly criticized on Twitter for her ill-timed joke.
#JoyBehar https://t.co/ClbgIhquKB
— Milo™ (@chasbottom) October 8, 2021
🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
What #JoyBehar?
So, Black people should take the vaccine because they experimented on White people with it?!
Then, #WhoopiGoldberg set up there and agreed w/ her.
These people sound dumber and dumber as the #pandemic goes on. Smh 🤦🏾♀️ https://t.co/aeQlWZoFu4
— Mz. Rell (@MzRell) October 8, 2021
Instagram users also took Behar to task.
“She can shut up. white ppl need to stop telling Black ppl what to accept, how to feel, etc. Her statement is tone deaf af.”
“Joy getting a lil too comfortable”
“I’m tired of white people trying to tell Black people how to feel about anything. Bye Joy.
The View co-host Sunny Hostin noted that while many in the community may have been hesitant at first, there has been an increase of people getting vaccinated in the Black community.
“I have read the vaccine hesitancy is lower and that the Black community is now being vaccinated at a higher rate than anyone in the country,” she said.
