The View Comes Under Fire for Comments About Black Men, Homosexuality and HIV

Find out why activists are blasting Sherri Shepherd and recent guest cohost D.L. Hughley

By Marc Malkin Jul 12, 2010 7:05 AMTags
The View Cast: Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy BeharBOB D'AMICO/ABC

GLAAD isn't too happy with Barbara Walters and her roundtable.

The gay media watchdog group has taken out a full page ad in Hollywood trade magazine Variety blasting The View.

Why? Keep reading to find out...

During the June 22 episode of the daytime talk show, cohost Sherri Shepherd and guest host, comedian D.L. Hughley, blamed increased HIV rates among straight African American women on black men who are secretly gay, AKA "on the down low."

"When you look at the prevalence of HIV in the African American community, it's primarily young women who are getting it from men who are on the down low," Hughley said.

Shepherd added, "It's so big in the black community with women because they're having sex with men who have been having sex with men."

The Variety ad, cosigned by the Black AIDS Institute and the National Black Justice Coalition, reads in part, "The Centers for Disease Control has publicly disproven this myth. And since June 22, thousands of people have written to ABC, asking that The View provide correct information to viewers. Unfortunately, those requests have been greeted with silence from both ABC and The View."

Shortly after the episode aired, GLAAD encouraged its supporters to contact ABC and show execs and demand an on-air apology and correction.

Walters, Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg have all been honored by the gay rights group with GLAAD Media Awards.

(Originally published July 11, 2010, at 9 p.m. PT)

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