Actor Liam Neeson recently appeared on the daytime television show, The View, which left him feeling both disappointed and embarrassed. One of the show’s hosts, Joy Behar, has been vocal about her crush on the actor, and she took over nearly his entire segment talking about it. Later, during an interview with Rolling Stone, Neeson explained how uncomfortable it had been for him, saying that he wished he could’ve engaged in some intelligent conversation.
He thought they would be having a smart conversation
Before his segment, Neeson was getting ready in his dressing room. The taping was being shown on a television backstage, giving him a look at the kind of things being discussed on the show prior to his own segment.
He described these moments, saying, “I was in the dressing room drinking a cup of tea, turned the TV up, and I thought, oh, this will be great. They’re talking about gun violence in America, and I agree that it’s an American problem.” Excited to join in on the intelligent conversation, Neeson prepared himself for his appearance on set.
“I go onstage and join the ladies during the break, and I was congratulating them on this discussion,” he said. Unfortunately for Neeson, the conversation swiftly changed almost as soon as he sat down and his interview began.
Their chat ended up being extremely ’embarrassing’
When Neeson joined the ladies on set, the conversation immediately took a nosedive to the superficial. “And then our segment starts and it’s just all this BS with Joy [Behar] and Liam Neeson and having a crush, and I’ve known Whoopi for years and Joy a little bit, but I just wasn’t impressed,” Neeson explained. The 70-year-old said, “I’m uncomfortable in those situations, you know?”
He carried on to explain that “the segment’s all about this — oof —thirteen, fourteen-year-old crush. It’s just a bit embarrassing.” It has been no secret that Behar has quite an admiration for Neeson, having discussed it many times on the show before. Co-host Ana Navarro even said, “You talk about him so much.” This caused Behar to respond with a quick, “Oh, shut up, don’t blow my cover up,” all while in front of Neeson.
Prior to the segment, Neeson had written all of the ladies Valentine’s Day cards. Behar admitted she originally believed she was the only one intended to receive a card, not realizing he wrote one for everyone. Then, to joke as though Behar’s message was generic, former prosecutor Sunny Hostin said, “he wrote something very special on mine.” Hostin was the only The View personality Neeson said he was able to have an “intelligent conversation” with as the conversation continued to derail.
The producers surprised Behar in a bad way
It seems as though Hostin was also in on the teasing, opening the next portion of the conversation by saying, “It’s no secret that Joy thinks you’re the hottest and greatest ever. In case there was any doubt, we have a few times she’s brought you up over the years…” To Behar’s surprise, the show then cut to a montage of all of the times Behar had mentioned her crush on Neeson on the show.
After it had finished, Behar called out producer Brian Teta for “embarrassing” her, while Neeson turned to her and jokingly said, “So you received the checks?” This was to try and diffuse the awkwardness on stage, with Neeson pretending he had paid Behar to speak of him with such high regard.
At the end of the segment, Behar looked at Neeson and recited his infamous line, “I will find you and I will kill you,” which added more awkwardness to the situation. All Neeson could say in response was “Oh Joy, stop it. Get a life.”
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Since the passing of his late wife, Natasha Richardson, in 2009, Neeson has kept a low dating profile.