Behar Wore Blackface, Megyn Kelly Did Not [OPINION]

Hypocrisy, like karma, is a – well, you know what it is.

Donald J. Trump, Jr. took a verbal 2" x 4" to Joy Behar yesterday while being lectured by the ladies of The View about the character of his father and the rest of the Trump clan. Junior reminded the gals that no one is perfect:

"We've all done things that we regret," he said. "I mean, if we're talking about bringing a discourse down, Joy, you've worn blackface."

Behar quickly denied that she had worn blackface, though in a segment that aired in 2016 she confessed to having dressed as "a beautiful African woman" at a Halloween party back in the 1970s and that she wore makeup that was "a little bit darker than my skin."

Behar and ABC were allowed to sidestep the issue even when NBC's Megyn Kelly came under intense criticism and was eventually fired for suggesting that coloring ones face for Halloween might not be such a big deal.

"Back when I was a kid that was OK, as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character," Kelly said. "There was a controversy on The Real Housewives of New York with Luann, and she dressed as Diana Ross, and she made her skin look darker than it really is and people said that that was racist. And I don't know, I felt like who doesn't love Diana Ross? She wants to look like Diana Ross for one day. I don't know how, like, that got racist on Halloween."

For the record, Kelly never actually wore blackface that we are aware of, yet she is fired and Behar, who first admitted and then denied wearing blackface, is not. Different rules for different people.

Behar, while defended by co-host Whoopi Goldberg – "I know blackface when I see it and that was not blackface," Goldberg said – was roasted on social media for her obvious lie, but still crickets from the good old boys at ABC. I guess they're still ducking from their debacles involving fake war videos and the spiking of the Epstein story.

Perhaps the Behar controversy doesn't rise to their journalistic standards either.

Hypocrisy sucks, especially when you question someone's values only to be reminded that your own values leave a bit to be desired.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.