{"id":267508,"date":"2026-02-04T17:09:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/267508\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T17:09:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:09:07","slug":"joy-behar-returns-to-the-view-with-a-surprising-secret-meet-josephine-victoria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/267508\/","title":{"rendered":"Joy Behar Returns to ‘The View’ with a Surprising Secret: Meet Josephine Victoria"},"content":{"rendered":"

The red chair is finally occupied again. After a multi-episode absence that left fans questioning the status of their favorite co-hosts, Joy Behar<\/a> made her return to The View<\/a> on Tuesday. The 83-year-old brought more than her trademark wit back to the ABC<\/a> panel; she also brought a reveal about her identity that most viewers never saw coming.<\/p>\n

Speculation regarding Behar\u2019s health had been mounting after she missed six consecutive broadcasts starting in late January<\/a>. While she traditionally takes Mondays off, her continued absence throughout the week sparked concern. Last week, moderator Whoopi Goldberg<\/a>, 70, addressed Behar\u2019s empty seat.<\/p>\n

“We want to let you know Joy is out, she’s not feeling well, so we want her to feel better and get her behind back here,” Goldberg told the audience. Behar\u2019s medical history has been a topic of conversation before, notably last autumn when she missed four episodes after a household mishap. “I dropped my iPad on my foot and I broke my toe,” she shared at the time.<\/p>\n

Back in her usual spot for the Hot Topics segment, the conversation turned to co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin<\/a>\u2019s journey toward motherhood. Goldberg mentioned a rumor that an audience member was planning to name their newborn after Behar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard that too, as a middle name,\u201d Behar joked, before dropping the bombshell that her famous moniker isn’t on her birth certificate. \u201cMy real name is Josephine Victoria, but my grandfather<\/a> called me Joy, my Italian grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n

The comedian explained that the nickname took hold before she could even walk. \u201cFrom infancy, I was always known as Joy \u2014 as a middle name, I think it’s a really good choice,\u201d she added. Despite being one of the most recognizable faces on daytime television for decades, the Josephine Victoria revelation was a fresh twist for her audience.<\/p>\n

Living with a name that doubles as a common emotion has its perks and its pitfalls, according to the Emmy winner. Behar noted that the linguistic nature of her name often leads to seasonal mix-ups.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to know that Joy is a noun, so it always comes up in Christmas and all sorts of ways \u2014 just remember that \u2014 it’s confusing sometimes,\u201d she told her co-hosts. In her signature style, she couldn’t resist a bit of humor regarding the holiday season<\/a>, joking that she often assumes the classic carol Joy To The World was written specifically in her honor.<\/p>\n

After a week of Goldberg and the rest of the crew holding down the fort, the return of the woman formerly known as Josephine Victoria brings the panel back together.<\/p>\n

Next: Joy Behar Has 1 Word for \u2018The View\u2019 Guest Who Admits They \u2018Love\u2019 Donald Trump<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Parade<\/a> on Feb 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the News<\/a> section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The red chair is finally occupied again. After a multi-episode absence that left fans questioning the status of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267509,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,152160,12980,111,139,69,12981],"class_list":{"0":"post-267508","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-josephine-victoria","11":"tag-joy-behar","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-whoopi-goldberg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}