"The View" co-host Joy Behar on Monday defended the controversies surrounding HBO host Bill Maher and comedian Kathy Griffin because of their outspoken criticism of President Donald Trump.
"Bill Maher is one of the good guys in this fight against Trump right now. I believe that he is anyway," Behar said. "Not to deflect from what [Maher] said, because he already apologized, but Donald Trump and his people that ran his real estate agent, they actually practiced racism."
Maher used a racial slur during Friday night's broadcast of "Real Time With Bill Maher" while interviewing Sen. Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) about his book, which prompted Maher to quip "I'm a house n**ger." The comment drew strong rebuke from both sides of the political spectrum, forcing Maher to apologize for using the racial slur.
Behar said that the Trump's company discriminated against black people in housing, which is a reference to the 1973 federal lawsuit against Trump and his company for alleged racial discrimination.
"To me, that is a much more egregious sin than saying any kind of word to me and let's not lose perspective about comedians and words and things that comedians are saying, because there seems to be this assault on comedians," Behar said.
Behar continued by defending Griffin, who drew criticism for a photo shoot last week in which she posed with a fake severed head of Trump.
"There's a lot of overkill going on right now. Okay, she made a mistake. She said something—she did something stupid. She said she's sorry and now they're piling on her like she's Charles Manson. Get over it," Behar said.
Griffin received backlash from Republicans and Democrats alike, leading to CNN officially terminating its agreement with Griffin to appear on the network's New Year's Eve program.
CNN's communications team released a tweet Wednesday announcing the termination of Griffin's agreement.
CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year's Eve program.
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) May 31, 2017