“The View” co-host Joy Behar apologized on-air Tuesday for calling People of Praise, the religious organization associated with Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a “hate group” in the previous panel.
Behar referred to People of Praise, a Christian organization that has been linked to Barrett, as a “hate group” during Monday’s panel when discussing calls from the public for the justice to recuse herself from a case due to her Catholic faith.
“I have to clarify something I said yesterday, I want to correct something I said on-air when I stated that People of Praise had been deemed a hate group,” Behar said. “I just got them mixed up with another group, it was inaccurate. So I don’t think that’s right, I have to say, you know, sorry about that. Anyway, I conflated them.”
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg said it is easy to make these types of mistakes, pointing out that she often mixes up Behar with co-host Sara Haines.
Behar falsely said Monday that the Southern Poverty Law Center has publicly deemed People of Praise a “hate group.” She further criticized the group’s leader for allegedly being skeptical of the separation between church and state, and for allegedly opposing premarital sex. (RELATED: Here’s A List Of Democrats Who Have Attacked Amy Coney Barrett For Her Faith)
“She [Barrett] is a religious person, she belongs to this People of Praise group, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled them a hate group. And their founder has questioned the so-called ‘separation of church and state,’ they believe that sex should occur only within marriage, and of course between a man and a woman. They’ve got very specific things that they believe.”
Behar, along with co-hosts Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin, argued Barrett should recuse herself from a case that revolves around web designer Lori Smith’s refusal to design wedding websites for same-sex couples due to her religious beliefs. Barrett came under fire by some Democratic lawmakers for her Catholic faith during her 2017 confirmation hearings, though she made assurances her faith would not interfere in her judicial duties.
People of Praise describes itself as a multi-denominational “charismatic Christian community” which honors the early Christians “who were led by the Holy Spirit to form a community.” Barrett served as a “handmaid,” meaning a leadership role, in the group’s Ranaghan household while she attended law school at Notre Dame. Her role led major media outlets to falsely compare her association with the group to Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale.”