Liam Neeson fans can all but bet on the fact that the entertainment legend won’t be returning to The View any time soon after a recent appearance went a bit off the rails.
During his segment honoring the actor for 100 film roles, he was able to speak about his upcoming project, Marlowe, and look back at his beautifully lengthy career. Neeson called himself an avid reader, mentioned that he enjoyed narrating documentaries, and spoke about working with such extraordinary names across the business. Soon after, the conversation shifted to Joy Behar and several remarks she’d made about Neeson that made him…very obviously uncomfortable.
Now, we won’t be throwing stones from this glass house — we’ve also been guilty of having thirsty moments about some of our most beloved celebrity crushes. It’s hard not to sing the praises of someone you admire in the entertainment industry. However, some things Behar said seemingly made everyone shift awkwardly, and we’re looking specifically at the “spreading ashes” quote.
Things got tricky when The View placed Behar’s comments together in one compilation. Behar herself commented on how intense it seemed when threaded together in the video shown during the segment; calling it embarrassing, Neeson quickly agreed.
Neeson tried to laugh it off, asking if she’d received the checks for the times she brought him up, and they moved forward relatively smoothly, but it goes without saying that it was an uncomfortable bit for the legendary actor. For most, it’s hard to receive praise when the spotlight is on you, so imagine hearing someone gushing over you and navigating the following conversation.
In a chat with Rolling Stone after his appearance on The View, Neeson said the entire thing was a bit “embarrassing” and that the segment’s focus wasn’t in line with the expectations he had going into the chat.
“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. I go onstage and join the ladies during the break, and I was congratulating them on this discussion. 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. I’m uncomfortable in those situations, you know? One of the ladies [Sunny Hostin] is a prosecutor, and we had a little chat afterward, and it was a good, intelligent conversation, but then the segment’s all about this — oof —thirteen, fourteen-year-old crush. It’s just a bit embarrassing.”
His comments weren’t hostile or degrading, but he brings up a good point: there’s a difference between a few moments of excited praise and it all coming off as a bit “teenage crush-like.” He was invited to the series to speak about something that meant a lot to him, and much of the focus of his interview has been on something else entirely. Neeson is handsome; that is an unequivocal statement, but more than that — he’s talented and has achieved something extraordinary in being part of over 100 movies. His dedication to his craft spans decades, and it was obvious that there were many other things he would instead have discussed on The View.
Neeson obviously wasn’t the only one who felt embarrassed by the segment, and it’s safe to say that it would make sense to leave a feature like that out of the next interview the women host. That’s not to say that they won’t continue fangirling over their favorite celebrities or that it’s wrong to do so. Still, context and timing are so important — as is ensuring the comfort of every involved party.